My Real Estate Blog - Market Trends, Tips & Updates

Five housing markets have been identified as the ones to watch in the coming year but not all of them are listed for positive reasons.

As well as current hot markets of Vancouver and Toronto, a new survey by the Urban Land Institute and PwC Canada predicts that Ottawa, Winnipeg and Montreal will be noteworthy in 2017.

Vancouver has been named as the top market for investment, development and housing market, with the rental market showing demand, especially from millennials, while tight inventory is pushing up prices.

“While Calgary continues to redefine its market, Vancouver continues to be a positive outlier in the West and outpace the country in terms of growth,” says John Bunting, Partner and BC Real Estate Leader, PwC Canada.

Toronto is also under pressure from tight inventory, increasing home prices. The report says that renovations are strong due to the high cost of moving. Poll respondents highlight government land use policies as a key barrier to construction growth.

Ottawa will remain a slow market with falling demand for new homes and housing starts declining amid shelved development plans.

Winnipeg’s outlook is for the residential sector to slow despite a growing economy. The non-residential real estate sector will see short term growth.

Montreal is absorbing its condo stock and mixed-use developments are increasingly prolific, especially around transit hubs.

“The Quebec market continues to be quite varied by region but what remains consistent is strong economic growth in Montreal and Quebec City - two of the provinces most active markets,” says Annie Labbé, Chartered Appraiser, Senior Vice President, Real Estate Advisory Services at PwC Canada, PwC Canada.