Job vacancies increasing is the market slowing down?

Rate Cuts + Is now the time to buy?

Market reports - 2024

October 23, 2024•3 min read

Is Now the Time to Buy a Home? Key Considerations for Potential Buyers

The question many are asking right now is: What should I do next? Should I buy or wait? It's a common dilemma, and the answer depends on your individual circumstances and goals.

First, Ask Yourself: What's Your Plan?

The typical homebuyer stays in their property for 5-7 years. If you don’t plan on keeping the home for at least 4 years, it may not make financial sense due to the costs associated with buying and selling (roughly 7% total).

What’s Motivating You to Buy?

Here are some of the most common reasons people consider purchasing a home:

Protection from rising rental costs
Starting or expanding a family
Desire for housing stability
Seeking more privacy or space

If one or more of these applies to you, it might be worth considering a move sooner rather than later.

What to Expect in the Market

Looking ahead, home prices are expected to appreciate steadily at around 3% annually. Several factors are likely to support buyers in the near term:

Availability of 30-year loans: Now accessible to first-time buyers and those putting less than 20% down on new builds.
Lower interest rates: Recent reductions are making borrowing more affordable.

Why Are You Waiting?

If you’re holding off, consider what you’re waiting for:

Lower rates? They’ve already come down.
Lower prices? They’ve also moderated.

Waiting for rates and prices to drop further may not be realistic. Historically, prices and interest rates tend to move inversely. Here are two recent examples:

March 2023: After a pause in the Bank of Canada's aggressive rate hikes, we saw the largest monthly price increase in Canadian history—up 7.3% in one month.
June 2024: Following a 0.25% rate cut, prices surged 5% in a single month, with new home sales picking up significantly.

The Factors Behind the Recent Market Slowdown

The real estate market had been cooling off, but several recent changes are helping to turn the tide:

Rate cuts: Down 1.25% since April.
Bank of Canada’s shift: A halt to rate hikes has bolstered confidence.
Slowing inflation: Easing cost-of-living pressures.
Media sentiment: A more optimistic tone about the rate environment.

According to Victor Tran, a mortgage and real estate expert at RATESDOTCA, while the recent rate cut may encourage more activity, some buyers and sellers may still wait until the final rate announcement of the year. However, it’s impossible to time the market with precision, and delaying your decision might mean missing out on current opportunities.

Bottom Line

If you’re contemplating a home purchase, the conditions will be as favourable now as they’ll be for a while. With lower rates, accessible loan options, and price stabilization, it might be time to make your move.

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Quick snapshot

Sales are creeping up but so is inventory.

In September, we saw a notable decrease in the average days on the market, down 10% from August—24 days to just 22 days.

The average sale price also experienced a positive shift, rising by 5.2% to $645,000 compared to August.

Additionally, transaction activity is up significantly from last year, with 1,054 sales recorded versus 956, marking an increase of nearly 10%.

New listings remained relatively stable, with 2,385 compared to 2,319 in Sept 2023, reflecting a slight increase of about 3%.

Interest Rates - Showing good signs

Some of the top rates that we are seeing today are:

Fixed

3-Year Fixed: 4.19% (less than 20% down payment)
4-Year Fixed: 4.44% (less than 20% down payment)
5-Year Fixed: 4.09% (less than 20% down payment)
5-Year Fixed: 4.19% (20% down payment or more)

5-Year Fixed: 4.19% (35% down payment or more)

Variable
5-Year Variable: 5.40% (less than 20% down payment)
5-Year Variable: 5.60% (20% down payment or more)
5-Year Variable: 5.40% (35% down payment or more)

Contact for a free pre approval.

Preferred Lenders:

Chris Allard

Allard Mortgage
[email protected]

Cell: (613) 324-2389

Carlos Mora

TD BANK

[email protected]

Cell: 587-434-7696

Edward Dahan

RBC [email protected]

Cell: 613-261-1847