Gary O`Brien - From Orangeville to Mississauga - On The Road Again: Real Estate Market Trends & Forecast

Whether I'm in an elevator in Toronto, at a party in Orangeville, with clients in Brampton, getting a haircut at Square One, hacking away the tall grass at Shelburne Golf Course looking for an errant golf ball - everybody wants to know where is the market headed?  Is now a good time to buy?  Will prices go up or will they go down?  Is Armageddon waiting around the corner?  Should we sell off and move to the hills?  Should I order those new Pings or settle for my son's hand me downs?  Wow - so many questions, so much responsibility, so much pressure.  

Normally, like any good realtor, I can bluff my way through pretty much anything.  This time though, I think I'll play it safe and go to the authorities to see what the prognosticators say about current real estate market trends and forecasts.  For starters - lets' take a look at real estate.  Of course we'll experience peaks and valleys over time but, historically, real estate values have always appreciated over the long haul.  Short-term, nothing is ever certain, however, markets throughout Ontario are reporting strong sales with increases in Cornwall, Kingston, Grey Bruce-Owen Sound, Guelph, and Brantford where they posted record numbers.  In Mississauga sales volume was up 115% in December 2009 vs December 2008.   Read the full report by clicking here.  Elsewhere, in Orangeville for example, sales volume doubled during the same time period while values increased by approximately 8%.  Meanwhile, home sales across Canada reached the highest level ever for the month of December.  According to the Canadian Real Estate Association December 2009 showed an increase of 72% above activity in December 2008.  Click here to go more in depth. 

So where do we go from here?  Let's see what smarter minds than mine have to say.  The Bank of Canada sees economic growth of 2.9% in 2010 and has reiterated it's commitment to hold mortgage interest rates until the end of the second quarter of 2010.  With interest rates continuing to remain stable, "improving credit market conditions have enabled lenders to reintroduce discounts off posted mortgage interest rates".  Click here to read more on the Bank of Canada outlook.

An interesting study by ScotiaBank Group takes a look at the bigger picture with it's Global Real Estate Trends publication where it states,  "Canada still leads the pack in markets we track."  Further, the article goes on to say, "We expect housing demand will remain strong through the key spring sales season as buyers attempt to pre-empt the inevitable rise in interest rates, and improving labour markets bolster confidence.  Reduced affordability - through a combination of higher home prices and borrowing costs - will eventually cool demand, though probably not until much later in 2010."  Read the full article here.

Glad I could help clear that up.  Now, what to do about those clubs...