Home prices in Vancouver are likely to rise a modest 2.8 per cent in 2015, according to the Royal LePage quarterly house price survey released January 14.
This is the second-biggest predicted rise in Canada, after Toronto’s 4.5 per cent forecast, as price growth across the country slows because of economic factors such as the sliding cost of oil.
“For our 2015 forecast, we could not ignore the potential impact of the steep decline in the price of oil on housing markets across Canada,” said Phil Soper, president and chief executive of Royal LePage.
“We expect increased opportunity for homebuyers in Western Canada, but that opening is unlikely to last. Over the longer term, we foresee a return to regional home price appreciation that is above both the historical average and national trends in general, when energy markets recover.
“In the interim, slowed growth in the price of homes will be a welcome sign for many people in the West, especially in pricey markets like Vancouver where first-time buyers have been frustrated by a hypercompetitive market and home prices that have escalated at a feverish pace.”
Looking back over the previous quarter, Royal LePage reported that the continued short supply of single-family homes became the focus of intense demand from Vancouver buyers in the fourth quarter of 2014, increasing 7.5 per cent year-over-year to $1,124,642.
Standard two-storey homes in Vancouver increased 7.1 per cent to $1,233,182, while condominiums rose 3.8 per cent to $511,150.
Across the country, the average price of a home increased between 4.5 per cent and 6.7 per cent year-over-year. Nationally, the average price of detached bungalows rose 6.7 per cent to $406,218, while standard two-storey homes increased 6 per cent to $443,379 and standard condominiums saw a 4.5 per cent increase to $257,624.
Royal LePage expects Canadian home prices to increase moderately in 2015, forecasting a 2.9 per cent national increase for the year ahead.
