At a time when it’s impossible to predict much of anything, attempts to forecast what’s ahead in the real estate market are more difficult than ever. Attempts to explain what’s been happening to the housing market during the pandemic are more logical, but only because they are based on what has already happened.
They are based on facts.
Fact: More homes have been sold in Canada in one year than at any time in history — 630,634 — and that was with the month of December still to come.
Fact: Low mortgage rates and income support programs funded by the government contributed to the record sales.
Fact: Housing prices increased, in some places dramatically, for a number of reasons, among them pent-up demand coupled by a shortage of home sellers.
A story in the Financial Post this week examines all of this in more detail, giving real estate observers an opportunity to make projections about where they think the market could go in 2022.