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“With some homebuyers likely advancing their purchase decision before the new rules come into effect next year, the ‘pull-forward’ of these sales may come at the expense of sales in the first half of 2018,” CREA said in a statement.

“Meanwhile, other potential homebuyers are anticipated to stay on the sidelines as they save up a larger down payment before purchasing and contributing to a modest improvement in sales activity in the second half of 2018.”

The national home price is expected to slip by 1.4 per cent in 2018 to $503,100.

CREA’s outlook is more pessimistic than the forecast outlined by Royal LePage in a report on Wednesday. In its market survey forecast, the real estate firm suggests its house price composite will increase 4.9 per cent next year to $661,919 even as stricter mortgage rules slow the housing market.

In November, the number of homes sold through CREA’s Multiple Listing Service rose by 3.9 per cent compared with October, led by a 16 per cent sales spike in the Greater Toronto Area. Sales were up 2.6 per cent from last November, marking the first year-over-year increase since March. That helped send the national home price up 2.9 per cent, year-over-year, to $504,000.

The number of newly listed homes rose 3.5 per cent in November, which reflected a large increase in new supply across the GTA.

In October, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions announced the final version of its revised guidelines, called B-20. The new rules, which come into effect on Jan. 1, require would-be homebuyers to prove they can still service their uninsured mortgage at a qualifying rate of the greater of the contractual mortgage rate plus two percentage points or the five-year benchmark rate published by the Bank of Canada.