Canada home prices see record drop as high rates hit buyers

CANADIAN home prices fell by the most on record in 2022, as rapidly rising interest rates forced a market adjustment that may have further to go.

The country’s benchmark home price fell 1.6 per cent in December to C$730,600 (S$719,811), bringing the total decrease since February’s peak to 13.2 per cent, the Canadian Real Estate Association said on Monday (Jan 16).

The decline was the biggest peak-to-trough falloff since the group started compiling the data in 2005. Last year also saw the biggest price decline for a calendar year since records began, with a 7.5 per cent drop overall.

With the economy in danger of entering a recession and the Bank of Canada warning of more rate hikes to counter persistent inflation, the housing market may face continued pressure in the coming months.

A record number of buyers used floating-rate debt for purchases during Canada’s pandemic-era real estate boom, and those borrowers may come under increasing strain if mortgage costs remain high. Job losses from an economic slowdown also would make it harder for people to keep up with loan payments and stay in their homes.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict Canada will enter a recession in the first part of this year.

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“As we look ahead to the crucial spring selling season, the all-important question is who will emerge from hibernation in greater force — buyers or sellers?” Douglas Porter, chief economist at the Bank of Montreal, said in a note to clients commenting on the new sales data. “We suspect that the market will still be digesting the rapid run-up in interest rates and that buyers will be more reluctant to re-emerge, keeping prices under pressure for some time yet.”

Pulling back

The housing slump so far has largely been driven by a pullback among buyers who’ve been priced out due to higher interest rates. The number of transactions in December was down 39 per cent on a non-seasonally adjusted basis from last year, when the market was approaching its peak and before interest rates started rising.

Compared with November, the number of sales in December rose 1.3 per cent, while new listings fell 6.4 per cent as more prospective sellers opted to try and wait out the market weakness.

Part of that may be seasonal: Listings tend to slow during Canada’s winter months, then pick up again when the weather warms in the spring, traditionally the busiest time to sell.

So far, the decline in prices doesn’t seem to be enough to lure back many buyers because it’s been so outpaced by the rise in borrowing costs. From a record low 0.25 per cent last March the Bank of Canada has raised its benchmark rate to 4.25 per cent today, meaning prospective buyers looking for a 5-year mortgage now often face rates of about 6.5 per cent.

Despite the past year’s decline, prices rose so fast during the pandemic buying frenzy that the national benchmark in December remained 33 per cent higher than it was three years earlier. A report last month by Royal Bank of Canada showed that for the typical buyer dependent on a mortgage, housing affordability deteriorated to its worst level ever as mortgage rates rose with prices still elevated. BLOOMBERG