My Real Estate Blog - Market Trends, Tips & Updates

A recently released study points to an increased need for the advice of a real estate agent, as home prices continue their upward trajectory.

According to a Manulife Bank of Canada’s Debt Survey, published Thursday, 38% of Canadian homeowners feel that housing in their area is unaffordable. And two thirds of those expect housing prices to continue to increase in 2016.

The survey found that 28% of respondents found their local housing market “somewhat unaffordable.” 11%, meanwhile, believe their local market is “not affordable at all.”

A mere 10% believe their local market is “very affordable” and 51% say their market is “somewhat affordable.”

These results point to a large portion of the population who will benefit from the services of a licensed real estate agent, especially when it comes to trying to find a hidden gem in an expensive neighbourhood.

“The survey also revealed that those in Canada’s largest urban areas (Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and Montreal) are much less likely to describe their housing market as affordable (46%) than those elsewhere in Canada (68%),” Manulife said in a release. “Perceived lack of housing affordability was most acute in Vancouver, where just one in three (33%) indicated housing was affordable.”

Buyers in specific regions will likely be impacted differently, however.

“In Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, almost one in five (19%) expect prices to decline in the next 12 months, while just 3% of homeowners in Ontario,  4% in British Columbia and 4% in Quebec expect price declines in the next year,” Manulife said.

Nationally, 63% of homeowners expect housing prices to increase; while a mere 7% expect to see them decrease.