There’s been plenty of new construction on the Island over the past year and many of those units will be ready to occupy come 2018 and that should help on the supply side as far as housing goes.
For example, according to the B.C. Real Estate Association the number of residential units under construction in Nanaimo and the surrounding area is up 56 per cent from two years ago to 1,100.
However, Chief Economist, Cameron Muir says he expects migration to the Island and Coastal regions to remain high and that will affect the demand side of the equation…..
There are red flags though.
Muir says we are entering a rising interest rate environment that will further erode affordability, as will more stringent mortgage qualifications for conventional mortgagors may pull as much as 20 per cent of the purchasing power away from high-equity buyers.
