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Dominion LenDing Centres OUR HOUSE FALL 2017 >> 39 istoCK TOOLBOX DR. SHERRY COOPER is the chief economist at DLC and an award- winning authority on economics. in ottawa, benchmark prices are up 5.8 per cent over a year ago; in moncton, 5.4 per cent, and 4.9 per cent in montreal. even Calgary, hard hit by the collapse of oil prices, posted a year-over-year price hike of 1.1 per cent. guelph, Victoria, and Vancouver island show year-over- year increases in the 20-per-cent range. Although prices are now declining in the greater toronto Area, they are still up 18 per cent year-over-year and Cooper expects they will mirror the Vancouver market, where prices fell after policy measures were introduced there in 2016. Vancouver prices are now inching up again, but at a much-reduced year-over- year rate of 8.7 per cent, largely fuelled by apartment sales. Detached home sales are up less than two per cent. overall, this signals a "just right" phase of the market cycle where homeowners are holding onto their gains (and then some), but buyers have more options than in the recent past. TREnD C anada's real estate market moved from boom into balance this past summer as the impact of a number of government policy measures coupled with with July and september's hike in interest rates sinks in. And that's good news for buyers who have faced bidding wars or been driven by a fear of missing out in the country's hottest markets, says Dominion Lending Centres Chief economist sherry Cooper. "the psychology has changed," Cooper says of the Canadian housing market. the boom is over but it hasn't been followed by a bust. "in general, it appears that the public policy measures have done what was intended, which was to slow housing activity in those two red-hot regions of Vancouver and toronto without triggering a bursting of the bubble," she says. Cooper says a key metric in measuring the health of Canada's housing market is the ratio of sales to new listings and there has been a significant increase in new listings in most regions across the country. the sales-to-listings ratio is now in balanced territory in more than 60 per cent of the country's local real estate markets, according to the Canadian real estate Association. With new listings now more closely matching the number of sales, buyers have the opportunity to take more time in making what to many is the most important financial decision of their lives, says Cooper. "Buyers now have greater choice as supply conditions have certainly improved. there's been a significant increase in new listings. For buyers it's important that they do their due diligence and not rush into such an important decision or get caught up in the emotions of missing out on something," Cooper says. Part of that due diligence is shopping for the most appropriate mortgage by using the services of a professional broker, something that is even more critical now that mortgage rates have bottomed and are on the rise. the two quarter-point rate increases in July and september have pushed mortgage rates up, affecting buyers' borrowing power. it is the first of several incremental hikes that Cooper anticipates. Despite these changes affecting the housing market, prices continue to climb – although at a modest rate – in most regions. New policies and higher interest rates are bringing Canada's housing markets back into balance By Gord Hamilton C ling