A recent Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) report forecasts a tough road ahead for Canadian real estate, with predictions that housing prices nationwide could fall 9 to 18 per cent from first-quarter levels this year before starting to recover next year.
In Ontario, CMHC predicts that decline won’t reverse until the third quarter next year; it could be the latter part of 2022, or later, before prices return to pre-pandemic averages.
Let ’em fall, I say. Let ’em fall and keep going.
I feel bad for you if you’re trying to sell and not lose money, but just look at these Waterloo Region numbers. Who can afford to own in this market?
Average prices continue to rise year-over year. The average for all properties rose 6.5 per cent to $568,275, while the average for a detached home rose 5.4 per cent to $657,274. Those averages were virtually unchanged compared to April. The May median price for all properties rose 10.1 per cent over May 2019 to $545,000, while the median price of a detached home increased 9.6 per cent to $630,000.
Apartment-style condos saw the lowest price growth; the May average sale price of $330,336 was up just 0.6 per cent compared to May 2019 results. Townhomes saw the average price rise 13 per cent to $454,197, while semi-detached homes were up 11.4 per cent to $482,479.
$330,000 just to live in a glorified apartment? Get fucked!
And remember, these numbers are just the fixed cost of the house itself. They don’t include furnishing the house, maintaining the house, paying the property taxes on the house or the interest you’re going to have to eat on the loan you’ll need to take out to have any hope of ever being able to say that the house belongs to you.
Between this and the out of control cost of rent, it’s getting harder and harder just to live under a roof that isn’t going to cave in even if you’re lucky enough to be doing ok in the wages department.
