By every metric, 2022 established new housing and immigration records, report says
The anticipated rise in Canada’s population stemming from federal immigration targets is likely to further eat into the country’s already limited housing supply – in turn spurring more price growth, according to a new report by Zoocasa.
In late 2022, the Canadian government announced that it had set its immigration target at 465,000 new arrivals this year, gradually rising to 500,000 annually by 2025.
The country saw more than 1 million new arrivals over the course of 2022, pushing the Canadian population to nearly 40 million at the beginning of this year.
Canada has set a revised goal of 500,000 new arrivals each year by 2025, according to immigration minister Sean Fraser.https://t.co/2H4cFEyHPn#mortgagenews #immigration #inboundimmigration #labourvolatility
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) November 2, 2022
Zoocasa said that by every metric, the previous year established new housing and immigration records. The national statistics agency has said that 2022 was the first time in Canadian history where the population increased by over 1 million on an annual basis.
“The government welcomed the largest number of immigrants in a single year, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and at the same time, the national average home price soared to a monthly high of $804,900 – a 31% increase from 2021,” Zoocasa said in its report.
“The more people who live in Canada, the more homes are needed, which will exacerbate the already limited supply of homes,” it added. “Historically, as the population has increased, so have home prices – though not always at the same rate.”
Zoocasa is expecting home prices and the overall population to increase in lockstep at an even faster rate, especially in the near term.
“Based on the previous five years, home prices have grown unprecedentedly quickly, and though prices have levelled off from 2022, a significant downward trend is unlikely,” Zoocasa said. “Especially for large metropolitan areas that attract the majority of newcomers, such as Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary, home prices will be pushed upward as demand escalates.”
“Though prices may drop temporarily, in the long-term housing affordability will worsen as the population climbs.”
