Homebuyers in Kenora have seen a significant increase in housing prices. For local real estate agents, the COVID-19 pandemic has been good for business.
“It's been very, very busy," says Angela Kuchma the broker-owner of Remax Northwest Realty explains.
"We haven't had really any downtime which is not normal. Usually, our winter months are a little slower, but this year it's been pretty steady all the way through, which is awesome,” Kuchma noted.
The COVID-19 pandemic is responsible for the downturn of the Canadian economy but the housing market hasn’t seen the effects that you would think COVID-19 would bring.
“With COVID-19, our housing market is still very strong. It's probably one of the busiest and strongest years we've had in a very long time,” Kuchma explains.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian banks have lowered interest rates to as low as 1.75 per cent, which allowed many to enter the housing market.
“I think the low-interest rates have allowed for more people to get into the market,” Kuchman added.
Prices in Kenora have been soaring this past year and the introduction of a new bidding system in Ontario has lead to a hot housing market.
The new system allows the seller to set an “offer by” date for when all bids need to be in and agents can’t disclose what other buyers are willing to pay.
“I think there's a lot of reasons why it's not a bad thing. The [old bidding] system has been in place for a long time and it's definitely something that the sellers ask for,” Kuchma says.
As of June 1, a new mortgage stress test for homebuyers has been added that may make it a little tougher for buyers to receive a mortgage. The hope is the new stress test will cool down Canada's hot housing market.