"Quebec has never really been a hot market nor a slow one"
With the Bank of Canada’s outsized rate hikes pushing borrowing costs even higher, many of Canada’s red-hot markets have begun exhibiting signs of deceleration, both moderate and sharp. But for Ryan La Haye of Planiprêt, Quebec will almost certainly be spared from the worst effects.
“I think that Quebec is definitely going to see a slowdown, but what I mean by ‘slowdown’ is that I don’t think we’re going to see major decreases in property values,” La Haye told Canadian Mortgage Professional.
“Quebec has never really been a hot market nor a slow one, so I guess that’s good when these sort of things happen, but bad when you’re hoping to get a bang for your buck.”
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As for the possibility of sharp about-faces like those seen in the hottest markets, La Haye said that the situation is still evolving.
“It remains to be seen. Quebec has always been a little odd that way,” La Haye said.
“It’s going to be by sector, probably micro-economically. But from a macro perspective, Quebec at large won’t see many decreases. It could become a more balanced buyer/seller market, but I don’t think we’ll see swings like in Vancouver and Toronto.”
La Haye noted that the deceleration had already started, “specifically in the secondary market, secondary housing.”
“Activity involving these properties has slowed quite a bit. We’ve actually seen quite a few condominiums come under asking [price], which was relatively rare for the last two years,” he said.
“We’ve seen that buyers are starting to be able to negotiate more. On one side, that’s a positive, but there are still quite a few rate reservations that would go all the way until July 15 or July 31. We’re still seeing a sort of a mad rush to try to get those rate reservations in.”
La Haye added that there remains a large proportion of borrowers with rates “varying from 2.4% fixed, or under 3% in most cases before July 31.
“I think that the major shift is going to happen probably as we approach July 31, and certainly after the Bank of Canada announcement.”
Listen to more of La Haye’s thoughts on, and predictions for, the Quebec mortgage market here.
