No “freefall” for housing, according to Conference Board
Posted Sep 8, 2010 2:13 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Conference Board of Canada is jumping into the fray over suggestions our housing market is riding a bubble that could be about to pop.
Another hike in borrowing costs Wednesday is likely to further soften Canada’s housing market, but a Conference Board analyst says the slowdown in recent months won’t produce a “freefall” in demand.
The Bank of Canada raised interest rates another quarter point, the third such increase in a month, and the banks bumped up their prime rates by the same amount, pushing up the costs of mortgages linked to prime.
Mario Lefebvre, director of the Conference Board’s Centre for Municipal Studies says the sky is not about to fall on the housing market.
“This is a pause. This is not the market completely falling apart because we have not been supported by speculative or weird activity to begin with,” said Lefebvre.
He admits there is a chance Calgary housing prices will fall slightly, but we should see things rebound next year.
