For the past few years, the state of the housing market in Mississauga (and other GTA municipalities) has gotten a great deal of attention.

According to the Toronto Real Estate Board, the average price of a detached house in Mississauga currently sits at $1,104,975. A semi costs about $768,468, a town costs $609,946 and a condo costs $513,566.

The situation isn’t much better for renters, as a recent rentals.ca report found that the average monthly rent in November for one-bedroom units sat at $1,934. Rent for a two-bedroom sits at $2,416.

So, what can Canadian home buyers and sellers expect as we enter a new brand-new decade?

Real estate website and brokerage Zoocasa recently released its top five predictions for home sales, price growth, and mortgage rates in the new year.

1. Home Sales Will Continue to Recover from 2018 Slump 

Zoocasa says that Canada’s housing market has come a long way from its 2016-2018 boom-bust cycle.

“After sustaining roughly two years of softer sales and price growth following the introduction of the federal mortgage stress test, as well as provincial taxes and policies in Ontario and British Columbia, demand for homes for sale found its footing in the second half of 2019,” the blog post reads

2. BC and Ontario Will Lead Housing Market Growth

This probably comes as no surprise.

Zoocasa predicts the strongest action will be seen in the Ontario and British Columbia markets, particularly in the latter as it recovers from a slew of foreign buyer and non-resident speculation taxes.

In the Ontario real estate market, sales will hit between 204,200 – 213,800 units (+4.2 – 7.3 per cent), with prices between $614,000 – $633,700 (+5.4 – 6.5 per cent).

3. It’ll Be a Sellers’ Market – Especially in the GTA

If you’re planning to purchase a home in 2020, you will face a challenging market.

Zoocasa points out that market conditions in Canada’s largest cities have been largely defined by a growing supply and demand gap (a lot of people want homes and there are simply not enough of them right now).

While investors/speculators have also contributed to price growth, the lack of inventory—particularly in the GTA markets—set the stage for bidding wars and a stratospheric rise in home values over the course of 2016. The surge in prices led to the implementation of the Ontario Fair Housing Plan, which included a foreign buyers’ tax and rent controls, to cool demand.

4. Mortgage Rates Will Remain Cheap

Here’s some good news for buyers!

Zoocasa says The Bank of Canada (BoC) – the national central bank that sets the cost of borrowing for consumer lenders – has kept mortgage interest rates relatively low and stable for the entirety of 2019, keeping its trend-setting overnight lending rate at 1.75 per cent in each of its eight announcements. As a result, banks and credit unions were able to keep their variable mortgage and line of credit products competitively priced.

5. It Might Get Easier to Qualify for a Mortgage

Zoocasa says that, in December, a letter from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau indicated Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau will take a second look at the controversial stress test’s criteria, and potentially make tweaks to allow for more flexibility when qualifying borrowers.

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