Housing prices are at an all-time high in Atlantic Canada.
An economic intelligence manager with Turner Drake & Partners Ltd. in Halifax recently looked at the past four decades of housing prices, interest rates and mortgage payments, along with average incomes.
Alexandra Baird-Allen says housing is about as affordable now as it was in the 80s, when interest rates were at 18 percent.
“Over the past 40 years, you would have better off buying a house at any time, except now. We’re at about the same rate when you index the mortgage rates together, the combination of housing prices and interest rates,” says Baird-Allen.
She says those in the market now would still likely prefer taking a lower priced house at a high rate of interest, as housing prices have quadrupled.
And with supply and demand, housing prices are almost $150,000 higher than two years ago.
“There hasn’t been a period over the last four decades where prices have increased that sharply, certainly in our area it’s unprecedented.”
She says the good news is that incomes have risen over that time, but supply and demand is driving the market up.
At the start of the pandemic, housing prices started dramatically rising on a national level. What do these increases mean for Canadians, and how does the data compare to historical prices, rates & payments?
In our most recent blog, we dive into the data: https://t.co/3uqSeRXdPr pic.twitter.com/zfEv6xmgM6
— TurnerDrake&Partners (@TurnerDrakeLtd) February 3, 2022
