Housing rollercoaster will level out in 2023 study says

December 15, 2022




After a year of rapidly rising interest rates and falling home prices, 2023 should see more balanced conditions return to most housing markets across the country.
Re/Max Canada forecasts national prices will fall by a modest 3.3 per cent in 2023 compared to 2022. However, certain regions are expected to see sharper declines than others, according to Re/Max’s 2023 housing market outlook, based on survey results from brokers and agents.
Overall, roughly 60 per cent of Canada’s various housing markets should see a return to balanced conditions in 2023. The trend is already starting to materialize in many regions because of current economic conditions, the study noted.
“It’s good to see the majority of markets moving toward more balanced conditions, which is typically defined by 45 to 90 days on the market,” Re/Max Canada president Christopher Alexander said in a statement. “This is a much-needed adjustment from the unsustainable price increases and demand we saw early in 2022.”
Many markets still posted year-over-year gains in 2022. In the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), for example, the average price of a home rose 11 per cent to $1.2 million in the January-October period. Those gains are set to be erased in 2023 with an expected 11.8 per cent decline in prices by the end of 2023, Re/Max said.
In Vancouver, prices climbed 8 per cent to $1.3 million during the same period in 2022, which is expected to be followed by a 5 per cent decline in 2023.
Elsewhere in Canada, Re/Max is forecasting an 8.5 per cent year-over-year decline in prices in Winnipeg, a 5 per cent decline in Montreal, and a 5 per cent decline in Saint John, N.B., compared to 2022.
By contrast, home prices in some regions could stage a rebound. Of the 21 Ontario regions listed in the Re/Max report, over half were expected to see price increases in 2023—from as low as 2 per cent in Oakville to 8 per cent in Muskoka.
Outside of Ontario, price increases are in the forecast for Halifax (8 per cent), Calgary (7 per cent), St. John’s, N.L. (4 per cent), Edmonton (3 per cent) and Saskatoon (3 per cent) in 2023 as compared 2022.