Just as in many other countries, the housing market in the UK grew substantially during the coronavirus pandemic, fueled by robust demand and low borrowing costs. Nevertheless, high inflation and the increase in mortgage rates has led to house price growth slowing down. According to the forecast, 2024 is expected to see house prices decrease by ***** percent. Between 2024 and 2028, the average house price growth is projected at *** percent. A contraction after a period of continuous growth In June 2022, the UK's house price index exceeded *** index points, meaning that since 2015 which was the base year for the index, house prices had increased by ** percent. In just two years, between 2020 and 2022, the index surged by ** index points. As the market stood in December 2023, the average price for a home stood at approximately ******* British pounds. Rents are expected to continue to grow According to another forecast, the prime residential market is also expected to see rental prices grow in the next years. Growth is forecast to be stronger in 2024 and slow down in the period between 2025 and 2028. The rental market in London is expected to follow a similar trend, with Central London slightly outperforming Greater London.

House prices grew year-on-year in most states in the U.S. in the third quarter of 2024. The District of Columbia was the only exception, with a decline of ***** percent. The annual appreciation for single-family housing in the U.S. was **** percent, while in Hawaii—the state where homes appreciated the most—the increase exceeded ** percent. How have home prices developed in recent years? House price growth in the U.S. has been going strong for years. In 2024, the median sales price of a single-family home exceeded ******* U.S. dollars, up from ******* U.S. dollars five years ago. One of the factors driving house prices was the cost of credit. The record-low federal funds effective rate allowed mortgage lenders to set mortgage interest rates as low as *** percent. With interest rates on the rise, home buying has also slowed, causing fluctuations in house prices. Why are house prices growing? Many markets in the U.S. are overheated because supply has not been able to keep up with demand. How many homes enter the housing market depends on the construction output, whereas the availability of existing homes for purchase depends on many other factors, such as the willingness of owners to sell. Furthermore, growing investor appetite in the housing sector means that prospective homebuyers have some extra competition to worry about. In certain metros, for example, the share of homes bought by investors exceeded ** percent in 2024.

The average house price in Nova Scotia in 2024 stood at approximately ******* Canadian dollars. In the next year, house prices are forecast to further increase by about five percent. Compared to other provinces, Nova Scotia ranked below the national average in terms of house prices. However, the average price of a house in Nova Scotia was twice lower than in Ontario or British Columbia. Exploding population growth in recent yearsNova Scotia is the second-smallest province after Prince Edward Island, and had a population of just under *********** in 2018. The population of this province was relatively steady between 2000 and 2015, but has taken off since then. This sudden growth may be a factor in the increasing house prices, as demand also increases due to the greater number of residents looking for homes. The future of housing affordability in Nova ScotiaHalifax, the provincial capital, had an affordable housing market as of 2018, with mortgage payments only constituting about ** percent of average household incomes. The number of housing starts in the region has increased in the past few years, which also suggests an increase in demand. Only time will tell whether this will ensure a sufficient supply of homes for the region in response to its growing population.

The average Canadian house price declined slightly in 2023, after four years of consecutive growth. The average house price stood at ******* Canadian dollars in 2023 and was forecast to reach ******* Canadian dollars by 2026. Home sales on the rise The number of housing units sold is also set to increase over the two-year period. From ******* units sold, the annual number of home sales in the country is expected to rise to ******* in 2025. British Columbia and Ontario have traditionally been housing markets with prices above the Canadian average, and both are set to witness an increase in sales in 2025. How did Canadians feel about the future development of house prices? When it comes to consumer confidence in the performance of the real estate market in the next six months, Canadian consumers in 2024 mostly expected that the market would go up. A slightly lower share of the respondents believed real estate prices would remain the same.