But the hard reality is that home prices will continue to rise, and buying or renting a house or apartment probably won’t get any easier through 2024, says Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
Tenants will also continue to struggle.
The Housing Outlook forecasts a range of prices for major markets across the country through 2024.
CMHC predicts average prices in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area , which does not include Halton Region, will hit somewhere between a low of $1.21 million and a high of $1.51 million in 2024.
In the Oshawa CMA, which includes Whitby and Clarington, the average price in 2024 is forecast to be about $1.11 million on the low end or $1.42 million on the high side.
That puts the GTA well above CMHC’s national forecast.
Ontario, Quebec and B.C.
Consumers whose spending power will be reduced by higher mortgage rates will gravitate to lower priced townhouses and condos, even as the average price of a home remains high, said CMHC’s chief economist Bob Dugan.
At that rate it would take three to six years to supply the excess demand in the system today, he said.
CMHC’s report notes that housing starts will be further hampered by a lack of serviced land with infrastructure such as wastewater, transit and power.