1. Stoney Creek housing market was a strong Seller Market for a long time right now it is more like a balanced market. In 2018 we can see the same trends to continue. Buyers will take longer to purchase the property. Homes will stay longer on the market. It will be a balanced market and maybe even a buyers market. The number of sales may decrease in comparison to 2017 and the number of listings will increase.
2. We can expect some impact of the stress test that every buyers will have to pass on their mortgage application starting January 1st 2018. Banks will qualify the buyers based on whether they could still afford their monthly payments if interest rates were 2 per cent higher. This could allow fewer buyers to qualify for loans. This plus hike in the interest rate (Bank of Canada already hiked the interest rate by 0,25%) could bring prices of homes in Stoney Creek lower as sellers find fewer buyers be able to pay premium prices for their properties.
To qualify, buyers might have to lower their prices range by 15%-20% and consider different, cheaper neighbourhood.
3.We predict that house prices in Stoney Creek and Hamilton might slightly decline in 2018 however, it will not be a significant drop.
