Headlines in several Canadian newspapers report that consumers are nervous buying a condo out of fear that what they contracted for will not be built.  A more substantial fear is that due to current oversupply, condominiums are getting harder to sell.  In Toronto, 22,654 condos were sold in 2007, but only 16,000 are expected to be sold this year.  While the long term outlook for the condo market is good, building starts are expected to decline by 6% as prices decline.  For current owners in Ontario, this news should be only mildly upsetting as prices will actually increase by 3-5%.  Western markets in Calgary and Vancouver, where housing is somewhat overvalued, may not only see an end to double digit inflation in condo prices but a 3-5% decrease.

Condominiums are popular in Canada because they meet the needs of a very urban population.  As of 2006, 80% of Canada's population was centered in cities compare to 62% in 1951.  Condos offer style and convenience in an environment-friend package that uses less land and resources.  They sell for half the price of a detached bungalow in Vancouver and a third of one in Calgary and Ontario, as well as cost less to maintain.  Since the median age of the population is increasing, the convenience of condo living has a secure future in Canada.

Though prices and supplies of condominiums might be declining, Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O'Neill is optimistic that the impact of these declines will be greater stability in the future.

For information about great places to live in Windsor, call your Prudential Select Real Estate Agent Mark Tesolin at (519) 972-5505 or visit http://marktesolin.com.