Douglas Todd: Mortgage rates, changing psychology, large volume of investors and migration policy are squeezing the housing market. Read on.
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The real estate industry hopes the spring market, when sales traditionally surge, will turn around housing prices, which have fallen 19 per cent nationally since their peak a year ago.Sign up to know what's really happening by reading daily editorials and commentary by British Columbia's opinion leadersBy clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
Realtors and mortgage lenders are playing with the mixed feelings of yearning, fear and greed that arise each spring. With signs of a tiny uptick in sales and listings in February, they enthuse about pent-up demand and upward pressure on prices. Their customary stand is to make people think the best time to buy is right now. Independent analysts are not so confident.Article content
What is actually happening? Neither owners nor investors are putting many homes on the market, so buyers have little choice. Nationally, MLS prices dropped another 1.1 per cent in February compared to January. In sought-after Greater Vancouver, however, overall prices rose one per cent. In the Fraser Valley, they were up 0.5 per cent, after plunging by one-quarter year over year. The average price of all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is an unaffordable $1.12 million, whereas, across Canada , the typical pricetag is $527,000.Mortgage rates have been rising as fast as the prime rate set by the Bank of Canada, which finally signalled a pause this month.
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