Historic housing correction not likely to impact Barrie's market: BDAR
The president of the Barrie and District Association of Realtors (BDAR) doesn’t believe there will be a massive correction locally on the housing market with supply relatively unchanged, despite a significant correction on the horizon for housing prices in areas that soared during the pandemic across the province.
"It costs more to buy a home that is lesser priced today than it did to buy a home that was higher priced a few months ago because of the interest rate differential. So your monthly payment is higher now even though the home price is lower, and that's going to continue to be a trend," said Luc Woolsey, BDAR.
- Download our app to get local alerts to your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Single mom Kathleen Goodman said she would like to get back into the housing market in Barrie.
"We'll be renters and staying where we are for the time being. I guess with the soaring prices. There's just no hope," she said.
A new report by RBC forecasts housing sales will drop about 40 per cent in the next year, while real estate prices will fall about 12 per cent overall.
"We are currently down 18 per cent in that time already here in Simcoe County, so does that mean we've already reached the floor from their prediction? It's really hard to say," Woolsey added.
- 'Historic' housing correction is underway in Ontario, RBC says. This is how much prices could fall
- Interest rate hike leaves uncertainty in Simcoe County
- Simcoe County house prices shatter records and dreams of hopeful homebuyers
"The cost of houses and what you get for your money is just not worth it nowadays," Goodman said.
"It's ridiculous, actually," said Barrie resident Jodi Wilkins, who noted prices in her south-end neighbourhood reached record levels over the past two years.
"For some of the houses here and the sizes, they're quite astronomical. I know one in the neighbourhood for just under 1,100 square feet last year or the year before sold for over $700,000," Wilkins said.
With interest rates being hiked again, RBC expects Canada's overnight rate of 2.5 per cent to hit 3.25 per cent by October, prompting what it fears will cause affordability to sink to its worst-ever levels.
"There's still going to be a demand for housing except that now, with higher interest rates, buyers will have less of a budget," said Robert Hogue, RBC assistant chief economist.
Still, BDAR's president believes the market appears fairly strong.
"Homes that are priced appropriately and show well are still selling," Woolsey said, adding most houses sit on the market for an average of 19 days.
"That's still pretty quick. It seems like a lot versus four days on the market earlier in the year, but it wasn't uncommon a couple of years ago to be six months on the market," Woolsey concluded.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.