On August 28, 2013, Genworth Canada released its Summer 2013 Metropolitan Condo Outlook report.

The state of Canada’s condo market

According to Genworth Canada’s report, Canada’s condo market won’t be seeing any record breaking years in the near future, but there also won’t be a dramatic downturn, suggesting that the condo market is finally stabilizing after the past few years of heavy growth.

Analysts were most concerned about major cities like Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto, but thanks to steady population growth and employment gains, the demand for condo living will stay strong.

Brian Hurley, the Chairman and CEO of Genworth Canada said, “Whether it's first-time homebuyers entering homeownership, empty-nesters looking to downsize or professionals seeking a shorter commute, condos appear to remain a popular option for urban Canadians.”

Robin Wiebe, Senior Economist at the Centre for Municipal Studies at The Conference Board of Canada said, “As condo starts near past averages and inventories edge closer to demand, we are seeing the condo market stabilize both in terms of the price of existing units and the volume of new construction...Softer prices and positive economic factors continue to make condos an affordable way for Canadians to achieve homeownership."

Toronto highlights

In 2012, the inventory of completed and unsold new condos was high, so Genworth Canada is predicting that developers will hold back a little bit for the remainder of 2013 and all through 2014. After another year or so of letting the market stabilize, we could see another surge of condos, possibly in 2015.

Resale condo prices

Resale condo prices are expected to rise across the major cities in Canada. Victoria and Calgary are amongst the highest, with prices expected to jump 3.6% and 3.3%, respectively, over the next year.

The average resale price for a condo in Toronto right now is $305,239, and by fall of 2014, it is only expected to rise about 1.6% to roughly $310,242.