Tembo would like to share some quotes from key stakeholders in the financial, real estate, and banking sector on the medium term to longer term impacts of COVID-19 on the real estate and rental markets.

These quotes were pulled from a blog entry on Toronto Storeys’ website. We have taken a few of the many quotes outlined in the broad blog post, and have added some others as quoted by various media outlets:

TD Bank – “TD said its forecasts are subject to an “extremely high degree of uncertainty.”

CIBC – “Overall, as the fog clears, we expect to see average prices 5-10% lower relative to 2019 levels, with high-cost units in the high-rise segment of the market seeing the most notable price declines.”

RBC – “We believe the extraordinary policy response from all levels of government and the Bank of Canada, as well as accommodating measures offered by financial institutions, will soften the blow.”

RE/MAX – “What is more likely to happen, as a result of this public health crisis, is more of a levelling off, rather than significant dips. The prices have been climbing at such a steep, unsustainable rate, that they were bound to be reined in at some point. However, with levels of housing inventory so low in so many of the country’s hottest markets, it’s unlikely that any price change will be jaw-dropping, or even noteworthy.”

Urbanation (rental activity) – “As rental demand declines as job losses mount, incomes are reduced, and immigration shrinks, the slowing in the GTA rental market that appeared in the last half of March will progress for at least the next few quarters given the current economic outlook. The impact on rents will be something to watch, which will also be influenced by the timing of the record number of units that were expected to complete this year.”

CREA – “The expected volatility in overall economic activity in the coming quarters will not skip the resale market,” CIBC economists Benjamin Tal and Katherine Judge wrote in a report released Friday. “By 2021, as the economics of housing returns to fundamentals, we expect an array of factors to result in a weaker market with some downward pressure on prices.”

Dream Office REIT CEO Michael Cooper – “Really, 2022 is going to be a time frame where you can look at what the value of a building is and deal with it with confidence — you know what the rental rates are, what the demand is. I’m planning for tough, tough times ahead, just because I think it’s prudent.”