The Canadian Real Estate Association is predicting home sales will dip by about 3.3% next year as deteriorating affordability, a shortage of supply and new mortgage rules slow the red-hot Toronto and Vancouver markets.
The association is predicting sales of 518,900 units in 2017, with transactions in B.C. and Ontario expected to stay strong but fall short of 2016’s expected record levels.
Cailey Heaps Estrin, a Toronto-based sales representative with Royal LePage, said Thursday stricter mortgage rules introduced by Ottawa — including increased stress tests for insured mortgages — will cause the Toronto market to cool next year.