RE/MAX Canada has released its 2024 RE/MAX Canada Condominium Report.

In this video interview, Samantha Villiard, Regional Vice President, RE/MAX Canada, discusses the key findings from the report.

PRESS RELEASE
TORONTO, Oct. 9, 2024 /CNW/ — Despite fears of leaving money on the table, sellers have returned to housing markets across the country in large numbers as the promise of future interest rate cuts draw skittish buyers back into the fray, according to a report released today by RE/MAX Canada.

The 2024 RE/MAX Canada Condominium Report examined condominium activity between January – August 2024 in seven major markets across the country including Greater Vancouver, Fraser Valley, City of Calgary, Edmonton, Greater Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax Regional Municipality, and found that condo listings have soared in anticipation of increased demand in the fourth quarter of 2024 and early 2025. Growth in inventory levels was highest in the Fraser Valley (58.7 per cent), followed by Greater Toronto (52.8 per cent), City of Calgary (52.4 per cent), Ottawa (44.5 per cent), Edmonton (17.7 per cent), Halifax Regional Municipality (8.1 per cent) and Vancouver (7.3 per cent). Values have held up surprisingly well given the influx of listings, with gains posted in Calgary (15 per cent), Edmonton (four per cent), Ottawa (2.3 per cent), Vancouver (1.9 per cent), Fraser Valley (1.9 per cent), and Halifax (1.2 per cent). Meanwhile in Greater Toronto, the average price fell two per cent short of year-ago. While sales were robust in Alberta thanks to in-migration from other parts of the country, Edmonton led the way in terms of percentage increase in the number of condos sold, up just close to 37 per cent from year-ago levels, marking the region’s best performance in the previous five-year period. This is followed by a more tempered Calgary market, which was up 2.6 per cent over 2023. Remaining markets saw home-buying activity soften in the condominium sector.

“High interest rates and stringent lending policies pummeled first-time buyers in recent years, preventing many from reaching their home-ownership goal, despite having to pay record high rental costs that mirrored mortgage payments,” says RE/MAX Canada President Christopher Alexander. “The current lull is the calm before the storm. Come spring of 2025, pent-up demand is expected to fuel stronger market activity, particularly at entry-level price points, as both first-time buyers and investors once again vie for affordable condominium product.”

SOURCE: Greater Vancouver REALTORS, Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, Calgary Real Estate Board, REALTORS Association of Edmonton, Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, Ottawa Real Estate Board, Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS. *Apartments Only **Estimated average price for Greater Vancouver

Edmonton and Calgary remain firmly entrenched in seller’s market territory, while conditions are more balanced in Greater Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Ottawa and Halifax. These markets will likely transition in 2025. Toronto may be the last to emerge from more sluggish conditions, however, Alexander notes that it’s a market that has been known to turn quickly. Absorption rates will be a key indicator. Certainly, the market forces of supply and demand always prevail, so some neighbourhoods will fare better than others. Of note in Toronto, prices have likely bottomed out and that’s usually evidence that a turnaround is in sight.

The current uptick in inventory levels is drawing more traffic to listings, yet buyers remain somewhat skittish across the country. The first two Bank of Canada interest rate cuts did little to entice prospective homebuyers to engage in the market, given the degree of rate increases that took place. However, with further rate reductions expected and policy adjustments to