The average price of a home in the Barrie area is expected to increase next year, according to a new report. But the increase isn’t expected to be as steep as it was in 2017.
RE/MAX’s 2018 Housing Market Outlook Report states the average residential sale price in Barrie will likely jump 5 per cent in 2018. The average sale price increase across Canada is only estimated at 2.5 per cent.
That’s still higher than the 19 per cent increase the report noted for 2017, which pushed the average residential sales price in Barrie was $502,755.
The year-over-year jump, according to RE/MAX, can be attributed to homebuyers from the Greater Toronto Area.
“In order to find a balance between the home features they’re looking for and affordability, many buyers are continuing to look at real estate markets outside of the country’s largest urban centres,” the report states.
However, there could be a decrease in buyer activity in the first few months of the year because of new mortgage rules. This includes a stress test.
“Based on conversations with RE/MAX brokers, we anticipate the greatest impact of decreased buyer purchasing power to be in Victoria, Greater Vancouver, Kelowna, North Bay, London-St. Thomas, Barrie, Hamilton-Burlington, the GTA, Durham Region, Kingston, Ottawa, Halifax and St. John’s,” Elton Ash, RE/MAX regional VP for western Canada.
Vancouver is expected to be the most expensive market in 2018. The average home price is estimated to jump 6 per cent to $1,092,679.
