Prices in Oakville, Milton fall as higher interest rates cool off housing market
Published May 16, 2022 at 3:42 pm
Oakville and Milton house prices fell in April.
Benchmark prices in both Halton Region towns fell 5.6 last month compared to March, according to data released by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
Home prices have been falling across the country for the first time in two years as rapidly rising interest rates cool off a red hot Canadian housing market.
According to the CREA, overall housing prices declined 0.6 per cent to $746,000 in April from March, marking the first drop since April 2020.
The number of homes sold fell 12.6 per cent.
In an effort to fight inflation that is at a three-year high, the Bank of Canada has started raising rates. Rates which began at 0.25 per cent this year are expected to rise to 3 per cent over the next year.
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The low rates that got through the COVID-19 pandemic in part resulted in Canadian home prices increasing by 24 per cent over the past year.
“Following a record-breaking couple of years, housing markets in many parts of Canada have cooled off pretty sharply over the last two months, in line with a jump in interest rates and buyer fatigue,” said Jill Oudil, chair of the Canadian Real Estate Association in a news release.
The biggest declines were in smaller communities around Toronto like Oakville and Milton.
Housing prices peaked in February at $816,000, but the average price has now declined two months in a row.
While prices have fell from their recent high, they still remain about seven per cent up from where they were at this time last year.
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