Royal LePage said its national house price composite -- which is based on 53 of the country's largest real estate markets -- showed that the average price of a home rose 12 per cent year-over-year to $545,414 in the third quarter.
Phil Soper, President and CEO, Royal LePage, said that Canadians’ “consumer confidence suffered a direct hit” after Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced a basket of new housing measures last week, including an expansion of mortgage stress tests and closing a tax loophole for non-residents on capital gains exemptions.
But the uncertainty stemming from Ottawa's new housing rules won't keep Canadians from participating in the housing market, Soper told BNN.
"For most people in the country who aren’t pushing the limits of their family’s finances on every single purchase, the adjustment isn’t catastrophic. In other words, they’re not being taken out of the market," he said.
