First-time buyers, retirees and population growth will continue to fuel the demand for condos in major Canadian cities over the next few years, according to a new report released by Genworth Financial Mortgage Insurance Company Canada (Genworth Canada).
Genworth Canada's Summer 2012 Metropolitan Condo Outlook notes that while rising prices for single-detached homes are increasingly driving first-time buyers toward condominiums, retirees aged 55 or more are also drawn to condo living and continue to be pervasive condominium buyers. The report states that over the next few years, a growing population in all
eight cities studied, and a rapidly increasing component of the population aged 55 or more, will provide vital demographic support.
Additional factors such as employment growth and continued low interest rates are cited as supporting the condo and housing market overall.
"This data corroborates our view that the demand for condos in Canada, particularly at the price-point we insure, is well supported by our economy and our population,” said Brian Hurley, Chairman and CEO of Genworth Canada. “For those seeking to own a home affordably in urban centres, condos remain a good option."
Resales prices for condos are expected to rise next year, in seven of the eight metropolitan centres studied in the report. In Toronto, by 2013, the average resale price of a condo is forecasted to be $312,352, an increase of 2.5 per cent. The highest jump in price will be in Edmonton which will see prices rise 3.2 per cent to an average of $215,290. The only city which is expected to have a drop in prices is Vancouver where condos will average $348,152, a cut of 2 per cent.
The Genworth Canada report, produced with the Conference Board of Canada, reviewed a wide range of condominium statistics and offers an in-depth analysis of the trends in the condominium market for eight large Canadian metropolitan areas: Québec City, Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Victoria.
