Flaherty optimistic about housing market despite downturn

A decline in Canada’s housing markets has many people concerned about the future, but one man remains optimistic amidst all of the doubt.

In a recent interview with the Financial Post, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said that he welcomes the decline, and believes that it is unnecessary for the federal government to intervene any further.

The tightening of Canada’s rules for mortgages in July 2012 fuelled Flaherty’s confidence, as he believes they were responsible for preventing a potential housing bubble from occurring.

One area of concern for many homebuyers and real estate investors was the performance of condo markets across the country. Canada’s largest condo markets, which include cities like Toronto and Vancouver, collectively experienced drops, but even this failed to deter Flaherty’s confidence.

“I’m pleased in particular that the condo market in big cities has fallen back,” Flaherty said. “I’m also pleased with some other moderation in new house construction and in demand for mortgages. I think these are healthy developments because I think we were beginning to see some indications of the beginning of a bubble.”

According to a recently-released report from Teranet, average home price increased experienced a slight drop, falling to 2% in April from 2.6% in the previous month. This surprised market analysts, as they normally view April as one of the stronger months for home sales and prices. New builds were also the decline, dropping from 200,000 annually to 180,000.

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