Average prices have risen to $469,700 — the highest amount in any Canadian city
Wency Leung
Sun
Vancouver’s housing prices will continue to be the most expensive in Canada, with an average home rising to $469,700 and the city posting some of the strongest price appreciation in the nation.
Vancouver is predicted to see home prices rise by seven per cent in 2006, a far slower rise than the estimated 17.4-per-cent escalation seen in 2005, the Royal LePage Real Estate Services 2006 Market Survey said Thursday.
A solid job market, rising wages, relatively low interest rates, as well as the draw of the 2010 Olympics, will continue to fuel the demand for housing in Vancouver, Royal LePage North Shore president Bill Binnie said in an interview.
“All the components that make up the market are still in place,” Binnie said.
“There’s consumer confidence in the future and after the Olympics,” Binnie added.
Lower Mainland real estate has escalated sharply in the last five years. The average price of housing in Vancouver was $295,978 in 2000.
“I think prices have caught up to stabilize,” Binnie said.
The number of sales in Vancouver is also slowing to a more stable rate, he added.
In 2006, the number of sales is expected to decline 4.9 per cent to 39,950 units. Average resale units were up by an estimated 10.6 per cent in 2005.
Meanwhile, national average housing prices are to increase six per cent to $271,800 in 2006, the survey projected.
Higher prices and modest interest rate increases will temper market activity, Royal LePage stated.
National transactions are expected to slip three per cent to 467,540 units from this year’s anticipated high of 482,000 units.
“Those looking for a break from the frenetic pace that has recently characterized the housing market will see some moderation next year, but the effects of an unusually strong fall market are expected to carry through into the first half of 2006,” Phil Soper, president and chief executive of the Royal LePage Real Estate Services, said in a news release.
High oil and gas prices will be a major influence to the market next year, fuelling job growth and migration to Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan, the report said.
The most affordable cities to buy homes next year will be Regina, where the average price is estimated to be $138,000, Winnipeg at $152,000, and Halifax at $202,800, the survey showed.
Besides Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary top the list of most expensive cities. The average price of real estate is anticipated to reach $364,000 in Toronto and, $283,400 in Calgary next year.
In Vancouver, the housing market will likely remain in the sellers’ favour as demand outpaces supply, Royal LePage stated.
