{"id":21082,"date":"2022-05-24T07:58:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-24T11:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/?p=21082"},"modified":"2023-07-05T16:34:58","modified_gmt":"2023-07-05T20:34:58","slug":"housing-market-predictions-2022-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zolo.ca\/blog\/housing-market-predictions-2022-canada","title":{"rendered":"Canadians Feel Locked Out of the 2022 Housing Market"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

In the past three years, the real estate market has seen record-high prices, a consistent seller’s market and plenty of bidding wars. For that reason, many first-time buyers<\/a> feel locked out of the market. So when it comes to 2022 housing market predictions in Canada, we surveyed to determine what they think will happen and how it’s impacting their decision to buy \u2014 or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An overwhelming majority of 83% think that house prices will continue to rise in 2022, and 66% agree that the average cost of a home in their city is out of reach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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View Our First-Time Home Buyer’s Guide<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

How Do Canadians Feel About the Real Estate Market in 2022?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To many Canadian homebuyers, the 2022 housing market looks grim – and that outlook is understandable. Home prices have increased by 20.4% across Canada year over year, an unprecedented increase that has made headlines and drawn the ire of Bank of Canada. While the central bank has already raised interest rates to combat rising prices, economists predict it will continue to raise the benchmark interest rate multiple times before the end of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Since about June of 2020, the real estate market right across the country was on fire,” says Mustafa Abbasi, President of Zolo. In less than 12 months, he says we saw 100% price growth in some areas of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). But, at the same time, inventory was at an all-time low with about 120,000 active listings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Almost every listed property was in multiple offers, and buyers were stressed out,” says Abbasi. “Since about late March 2022, the market has switched gears mostly because of recent rate hikes.” The good news? Abbasi says there is more supply, which means more choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s Impacting Our Decision to Buy \u2014 or Not Buy?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We asked Canadians whether the Bank of Canada benchmark interest rate or rising inflation levels impacted their decision to buy. The majority of respondents said one does more so than the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inflation, not interest rates, impacts Canadian buyers’ decision to purchase property in 2022. A majority, 57%, of Canadians say that the rising inflation levels affect their decision to buy. In contrast, 50% of respondents say that the Bank of Canada interest rate is not<\/strong> impacting their decision to buy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Buyers tend to look at their monthly budget to measure affordability, so when interest rates rise, it may give you less buying power,” says Abbasi. But, of course, he also acknowledges that inflation plays an important part. “As everything gets more expensive, buyers also have to factor in price increases of their essentials.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Housing<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As far as housing market predictions for 2022 go, there are mixed reviews. But, the Bank of Canada<\/a> says that inflation is projected to stay above our control range through the remainder of 2022 but should come back to around 2.5% near the end of 2023. However, their April 2022 Monetary Policy Report<\/a> also acknowledges that higher interest rates are needed to balance the economy and reduce inflation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Often Do Canadians Worry About Home Buying?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to worry and anxiety surrounding the inability to afford a home, Canadians agree that it can be hard not to worry about their opportunity to buy property. A majority (71% of Canadians) worry \u2014 at least sometimes \u2014 that they’ll never be able to buy a home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But, how much Canadians worry depends on where they live, with significant variability by province. Canadians in provinces with better overall affordability and smaller average price increases worry less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related content<\/p>

Home Buyer’s Guide<\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\n\n\n

How Does Location Impact Feelings About the <\/strong>2022 Housing Market – A Provincial Breakdown<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

House prices have been rising rapidly since the pandemic, with the most drastic change for New Brunswick, Ontario and British Columbia. These three provinces have seen an average price increase of 30.7%, 25.3% and 24.2%, respectively, year over year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We surveyed Canadians in nine provinces and found the highest proportion who worried about their ability to buy a home lived in New Brunswick (83%), Newfoundland (79%) and British Columbia (76%). In contrast, a smaller proportion of worried Canadians lived in Alberta (62%), Prince Edward Island (66%), and Saskatchewan (70%). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Does Each Province Feel?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

#1. Alberta<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Alberta\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n