Niagara will be bucking the national trend while it comes to residential sale prices in 2023.

Amid rising interest rates, and a looming recession, RE/MAX Canada is anticipating a modest decline of 3.3 per cent in average residential sales prices across the country in 2023.

However, Niagara Region is in a group of Ontario areas that are all expected to see average residential sale prices increase between two to eight per cent in 2023.

Joining Niagara in that group is Sudbury, Hamilton–Burlington, Oakville, Brampton, Ottawa, Mississauga, Muskoka, Windsor, York Region, Haliburton, Peterborough and The Kawarthas, and Kingston.

However due to those rising interest rates, the residential sale prices in some Ontario areas are expected to decline by two to 15 per cent next year, including London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Barrie, the GTA, Durham, and Lakelands West (Georgian Bay area).

According to a Leger survey commissioned by RE/MAX as part of the report, Canadians view home ownership as the best long-term investment they can make (73 per cent).

However, the real estate market will likely be skittish to start the new year as the majority (67 per cent) are feeling less optimistic in the short-term with 67 per cent less inclined to buy in the first half of 2023, and 62 per cent less inclined to sell in that time frame.

“Many Canadians have understandably expressed hesitancy about engaging in the real estate market early in 2023, in the wake of rising interest rates and broader economic uncertainties,” says Christopher Alexander, President, RE/MAX Canada.

“As we head into the new year, it’s important that governments work collaboratively to support housing affordability and address the supply challenges that Canadians continue to face, in order to make home ownership feasible for those who want it.”