Friday, 1 February 2013

Many in B.C. see home prices rising or holding steady in next year (Really?)

Michael Babad, The Globe and Mail


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Whither home prices

Among the more interesting bits in a new survey released today is that 71 per cent of home buyers in British Columbia believe real estate values will rise or hold steady over the next year.

According to the survey released by Re/MAX, they’re the “least bullish” in the country. But, still, that level may seem surprising considering the decline in prices in cities like Vancouver.

As The Globe and Mail’s Brent Jang reported earlier this month, sales in the Vancouver area plunged in December, by 50 per cent from November and more than 15 per cent from December of 2011.

Prices based on the Multiple Listing Service slipped 2.3 per cent from a year earlier.

Vancouver has become the focus for Canada’s cooling housing market. While sales have slumped across the country, prices have held up generally well and economists believe the real estate sector is in the midst of a soft landing, but for Vancouver.

According to today’s Angus Reid study among more than 1,100 people who plan to purchase within the next two years, more than 80 per cent across Canada see values rising or holding steady.

The “most bullish” were in Ontario.
 

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