The good news is that Canadian home prices appear to have hit bottom
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The good news is that Canadian home prices appear to have hit bottom. The not so great news is that a full recovery of the housing market could still be years away.
Numbers released by the Canadian Real Estate Association this week showed that home sales rose 0.5 per cent in July from the month before, the fourth month of gains in a row.
At the same time the national benchmark home price rose 0.1 per cent, its first monthly increase in more than a year and a half.
These green shoots are giving economists’ more confidence that a recovery is underway, but no one thinks it will be quick.
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“Volumes and prices have likely bottomed in the hardest-hit markets, but the recovery is going to be flat with little in the pipeline to trigger a forceful rebound,” said Robert Kavcic, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.
“Even so, going from a deep correction to a flat and stable resale market is incremental progress, and likely removes what was a persistent drag from Canadian economic growth.”