Real Estate Predictions for 2022

Jan 19

The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) has been a hot real estate market for some time. There continues to be a huge buyer demand and little inventory. Not even a full-on pandemic was able to curtail the activity on the market. This pace continues to leave us wondering, however, for how much longer this can last, and if 2022 is indeed the year where we see a price correction.

2021 saw continuous record-breaking months of higher house prices and limited supply, making the GTA one of the more expensive areas to own property in Canada. The Halton region saw much of the same trend.

For Oakville and Burlington residents, the December 2021 numbers recorded
average selling prices (for all residential properties) of:

Oakville $1,586,772 (2021) vs. $1,380,774 (2020); increase of 15%
Burlington $1,221,327 (2021) vs. $968,401 (2020); increases of 26%

The number of sales in these areas for December 2021 were:

Oakville 94 (2021) vs. 135 (2020); decrease of 30%
Burlington 136 (2021) vs. 170 (2020); decrease of 20%

Since the GTA continues to attract businesses, newcomers, industry and the like, it remains a viable economic region. Combine this with a need for housing, limited supply, lower interest rates and effects from an everlasting pandemic, and it becomes clear why the high buyer demand results in higher sale prices.

The first few weeks of 2022 have shown much of the same activity as it did towards the end of 2021, suggesting that the market will remain strong, or at least steady, through 2022. Many outlets, including the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) continue to predict price increases for 2022.

As a buyer, you should expect low supply, bidding wars and properties to sell fast. As for sellers, this is your market!! You will see properties sell quickly and even at new unprecedented prices. But the shortage of supply is also the main reason owners are not jumping to list their properties – they themselves will become buyers competing in the buyers’ market and run the risk of not finding a property.