Expect to see home prices rise throughout the year, according to one Canadian real estate company.
The latest house price survey from Royal LePage shows prices are forecast to increase nine per cent by the end of the year.
Officials said home prices increased 4.3 per cent year-over-year in the first quarter, indicating that sidelined buyers are returning to the market.
“Consistent with our previous forecast, the market did reach a critical tipping point in the first quarter of 2024, when home prices bottomed out and began to appreciate again,” Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage, said in a news release.
“Clearly, more and more buyers are motivated by the need to get ahead of rising home prices, rather than adopting the strategy of waiting for mortgage rates to fall.”
Interest rates are expected to start falling at some point in 2024, which Royal LePage said will draw more buyers back into the ring.
But Soper said it is the “severe shortage” of housing in markets across the country that will be the main driver of rising home prices.
