Average Canadian home prices have increased 40% since the Pandemic began. For a bit of context, that’s the equivalent of about eight years of the long-term average price appreciation in just two.
Still, as unusual as housing gains have been, 64% of Canadians recently surveyed expect the value of homes in their neighbourhood to increase further over the next six months. The historical average on this question is about 40%. Just 5.6% of respondents expect prices to fall, the lowest on record. See: Canadians deepen faith in red-hot housing while rate hikes loom.
The problem with cyclically-blind expectations is that they’re inherently unreasonable and end up disappointing, eventually. In the meantime, financial plans get based on misinformed assumptions that pile borrowing, spending and capital allocation decisions onto flawed foundations. A reliable recipe for frustration and loss.