Toronto home prices now expected to rise 11 per cent by year end, Royal LePage says

Toronto home prices now expected to rise 11 per cent by year end, Royal LePage says

The aggregate price of a home in the Greater Toronto Area is expected to remain mostly unchanged through the rest of the year despite the Bank of Canada’s decision to resume its interest rate hiking campaign, a new report from Royal LePage suggests.
The real estate firm has revised its forecast for the end of 2023 and is now expecting prices to rise 11 per cent year-over-year after previously calling for a two per cent decline.
However, the increase is mostly the result of the run-up in prices that occurred over the first two quarters of 2023 as the market rebounded from a prolonged slump.
Royal LePage says that it expects the aggregate price of a home in the GTA will be virtually unchanged over the remainder of 2023 – rising only by about $6,000 or 0.5 per cent.
“The additional interest rate hikes are causing many would-be sellers to hesitate. Our strong job market and flexibility to work remotely means most people can afford to wait it out, causing further supply shortages and multiple-offer scenarios on almost every listing.”, Royal Lepage’s Chief Operating Officer Karen Yolevski said in the report.
The firm doesn’t see that strong price appreciation continuing with the cost of borrowing now at a 22-year high.
But at the same time it is not predicting a return to the declines that took place over the course of 2022 when the average price of a Toronto home decreased by about 22 per cent from peak to trough.