In the fourth quarter of 2018, the Canadian housing market emerged from its most significant correction since the onset of the 2008 financial crisis, according to the latest Royal LePage House Price Survey.
“The invisible hand that guides our complex economy hit the real estate reset button in 2018 and that is a good thing,” said Phil Soper, Royal LePage president and CEO. “While some economists are adjusting their forecast for the economy as a whole, Canada’s real estate market is beginning to emerge from the correction that began a year ago."
While he acknowledges that the Alberta economy is tied up due to weak oil prices, Soper sees a stable national real estate market and expects modest price gains by the end of 2019, according to a Calgary Sun report.
“House prices and home sales volumes were soft and slow last year; expect modestly better results in 2019,” Soper said while advising additional supply is necessary for markets such as Toronto and Vancouver. “Despite the price corrections and low sales activity we saw in 2018, it is important that policymakers don’t take their eye off the ball when it comes to housing supply. That would be a huge mistake."
