Ottawa's housing market to remain stable
Canada`s housing market watchdog updated its outlook on the state of the real estate industry in the nation`s capital Thursday and dismissed speculation that a major market correction is looming.
According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., while homeowners can expect the market to cool slightly in the coming months, a rebound is likely for early 2015.
`While lower than historical average mortgage rates remain supportive of housing demand, weaker employment conditions in Ottawa have slowed down resale market activity,` said Sandra Perez Torres, a senior market analyst with CMHC. `Consequently, it is expected that sales of existing homes will retreat in 2014 by over two per cent, before picking up slightly in 2015 as economic and employment conditions improve.`
However, even with slumping sales expected for the resale market, Perez Torres noted that average housing prices will still increase by around 1.1 per cent year-over-year.
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