Housing market optimism climbs even with 2nd wave

Canadian households continue to be increasingly optimistic about housing, even as the country suffers through a second wave of coronavirus cases, polling suggests. About 44 per cent of respondents expect the value of real estate in their neighbourhood will go up over the next six months, according to the latest weekly survey by Nanos Research for Bloomberg News. That’s the highest percentage since March 13, before full pandemic shutdowns began and one of the strongest readings for this question in the past seven years. The share of Canadians who expect home prices to drop slid to 27 per cent, also the lowest since mid-march. The residential real estate market has been a bright spot in Canada’s economic recovery from COVID-19. Last month, home prices and sales reached a record.