If you’re thinking of moving to Canada or if you’re looking for a second home or investment property, is it a good time to buy?

Na Colúmbia Britânica, o BC. Imóveis Associação (BCREA) is forecasting that residential sales prices will decline 13 por cento em 2009, with the majority of the drop to occur between now and the summer.

In the Canadian real estate market em todo o país, housing prices are still expected to fall, embora não tão acentuadamente como no B.C. De acordo com o Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, average prices are expected to decline approximately 5.2 por cento em 2009, enquanto que na 2010, os preços vão se estabilizar, seeing little change from 2009.

No entanto, in an interview with the Vancôver Sun, BCREA chief economist Cameron Muir said, “If you compare today versus a year ago, investing in real estate is more attractive than it was then.”

Ele passou a dizer que, due both to falling prices and lower interest rates, “For both investors and home buyers, sua mortgage payment would be several hundred dollars less than a year ago.”

Fotografia © Carolyn B. Heller