As stated in a new RBC Economics report, the country's housing market may be headed towards a soft landing by year's end.
The report published yesterday, cited "supercharged" demand, low interest rates, high household savings and ever-increasing consumer confidence as drivers of market activity to record highs.
RBC's Senior Economist Robert Hogue predicts that home resales will get to 588,300 units this year, a considerable jump from last year's 552,300 units. Hogue sees the national benchmark price rising 8.4 percent to $669,000, guided by relatively low supply.
He added that hints of market deceleration will surface by the end of the year.
"Call it a 2022 soft landing", Hogue stated. The probability of a more serious market slowdown is still there, if the pandemic persists and continues to threaten the Canadian economy, even with the vaccine rollout.
RBC predicted seasonally adjusted resales will decline from the December 2020 highs of nearly 700,000 units to a 515,000 by the end of this year.
"The fading of COVID-induced market churn" will be the leading factor in a housing market cool down. The impact of low immigration due to the pandemic has really only been observed in the rental and condo markets in the country's larger cities, added the report.