THE MID-CAREER HOMEOWNER

Haig Armen Associate Professor at Emily Carr University of Art and Design, 52

THE STRATEGY: Hunker down and enjoy the renovation

THE THINKING: Among his friends, Haig Armen was the first to buy a condo in 1999, before the market really took off. By 2001 he had built enough equity to buy a 110-yearold house off Commercial Drive, where he’s now settled with his wife and two kids—and they’re not planning on going anywhere.

“We just renoed it to exactly the way we live,” says Armen, whose parents owned multiple rental properties in Ottawa as he was growing up, so he’s not easily spooked by the ebb and flow of the market.

Armen is banking on the house as part of his retirement, but unlike some homeowners whose nerves are kicking in, he’s relieved to see prices stabilize. “People say it’s money in your pocket, but it’s not really because if I were to sell, I would have to just buy another place for two million that’s not worth two million,” he says.

THE EXPERT: For many homeowners, big mortgages, high property taxes and soaring renovation costs have meant less money going into RRSPs and other retirement vehicles. Now with prices coming down, they’re seeing cracks in their nest eggs. But will those cracks widen even further?

Davidoff says there are so many unknowns—possible government interventions, trade wars—that it’s hard to predict what will happen and when. Still, he doesn’t think a crash is in the cards: “It’s hard to see how a stable, well governed place that’s mostly well positioned for global warming isn’t going to see continued demand growth.”

Some owners try to time the market, selling their homes with the intention of getting back in after prices have fallen—but that rarely works out, cautions Somerville. Instead, he believes that mid-career homeowners with real estate jitters should simply relax.

“Breathe,” he says. “Most of the time it comes down to: are you in a situation where you have to move? If not, don’t worry.”