Shortage of inventory creating strong price appreciation and increases in multiple offers

KITCHENER, ON, WATERLOO, ON and CAMBRIDGE, ON, April 13, 2018 /CNW/ - According to the Royal LePage House Price Survey1 released today, the aggregate price of a home in the Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge region saw a significant increase in the first quarter of 2018, rising 15.4 per cent year-over-year to $474,437.

When broken out by housing type, home prices posted double-digit gains across all categories. In the first quarter of 2018, the median price of a standard two-storey home increased 16.5 per cent year-over-year to $504,311, the median price of a bungalow rose 11.8 per cent year-over-year to $427,155 and the median price of a condominium rose 12.0 per cent year-over-year to $290,766.

"While prices are down slightly on a quarterly basis, we are seeing significant increases in year-over-year home prices as a result of last year's spring and summer market," said Keith Church, broker of record, Royal LePage Grand Valley Realty. "Despite the shortage of listings and continued multiple offers, the Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge real estate markets are healthy. The economy is strong, unemployment is low and housing remains affordable, positioning the region as one of the most attractive across the country."

Nationally, Canada's residential real estate market saw slowing year-over-year increases in the first three months of 2018. On a quarter-over-quarter basis for the same period, home prices in many markets across the country remained relatively flat, with approximately half of the markets studied by Royal LePage posting slight declines.

"We are experiencing a broad-based, residential housing correction in Canada, triggered by federal and provincial intervention," said Phil Soper, president and CEO, Royal LePage. "Strong house price gains in the first half of 2017 mask some of the recent market shifts when comparing year-over-year home value trends."

"The combination of declining affordability and government intervention has for the most part neutralized very high home price appreciation levels in the greater Vancouver and Toronto regions, relative to the extreme heights witnessed in recent periods," continued Soper. "However, the demand for housing is so strong that the rate of home price appreciation is expected to pick up again in the second half of 2018."

The Royal LePage National House Price Composite, compiled from proprietary property data in 63 of the nation's largest real estate markets, showed that the price of a home in Canada increased 6.2 per cent year-over-year to $605,512 in the first quarter of 2018. When broken out by housing type, the median price of a two-storey home rose 5.7 per cent year-over-year to $715,726, and the median price of a bungalow climbed 4.5 per cent to $501,985. Condominiums continued to witness the highest price appreciation rates among housing types studied, rising 10.3 per cent to $418,245.

"While we have recently seen both overshooting and corrections in Canada's largest markets, on a national basis we believe the Canadian housing market is amidst a long-term expansionary cycle supported by strong economic fundamentals," said Soper. "Canada's stature is rising on a global scale. Our cities continue to be ranked among the most desired places to live in the world. Our economy is strong, our unemployment levels are the lowest they've been in four decades and we have one of the fastest-growing populations among advanced economies. These factors combined are incredibly supportive of long-term housing demand and valuations."

About the Royal LePage House Price Survey

The Royal LePage House Price Survey provides information on the three most common types of housing in Canada, in 63 of the nation's largest real estate markets. Housing values in the House Price Survey are based on the Royal LePage National House Price Composite, produced quarterly through the use of company data in addition to data and analytics from its sister company, RPS Real Property Solutions, the trusted source for residential real estate intelligence and analytics in Canada. Commentary on housing and forecast values are provided by Royal LePage residential real estate experts, based on their opinions and market knowledge.

About Royal LePage

Serving Canadians since 1913, Royal LePage is the country's leading provider of services to real estate brokerages, with a network of almost 18,000 real estate professionals in more than 600 locations nationwide. Royal LePage is the only Canadian real estate company to have its own charitable foundation, the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation, dedicated to supporting women's and children's shelters and educational programs aimed at ending domestic violence. Royal LePage is a Brookfield Real Estate Services Inc. company, a TSX-listed corporation trading under the symbolTSX:BRE.

__________________________________ 1Aggregate prices are calculated using a weighted average of the median values of all housing types collected. Data is provided by RPS Real Property Solutions.

SOURCE Royal LePage Real Estate Services

For further information: Catherine Snider, Kaiser Lachance Communications, 647-725-2520 ext. 212, [email protected]