b'REAL ESTATEOUTMANEUVERING CANADAS REAL ESTATE MARKETBy Matthew BradfordFacing up to the countrys crazy housing marketwith its inventory shortages and frenzied bidding warsM oving talent is a challenge during the best of times.forever: "The market has just experienced 10 months of very With the current Canadian housing market, it canbusy activity right across the entire country with every market feel downright undoable. With dwindling inven- feeling the effects of this unusual \'pandemic\' demand factor.tory and record-high home prices being registered across Canada, relocators and real estate agentsHowever, Ash continues, We are now seeing a slight market are working overtime to find permanent accommodationsdownshift as much of the buyer demand has been satiated and for assignees. While conditions are softening, the prospect ofmore homes are coming on the market with sellers feeling more relocating anywhere within the country remains a source of stress. confident about the overall health safety in having their home Canada\'s housing market has made headlines during themarketed and shown.pandemic. This past April, the Canadian Real Estate AssociationThis is a promising prediction for relocators and real estate revealed that Canada only had 1.7 months of housing inven- agents, especially as sales-to-listing ratios loosen and bring more tory remaining at the end of March 2021, the lowest on record.stock into the market. Still, while the challenge of finding homes Moreover, average home prices during the same month were upfor assignees may be less severe than it has been over the past 31.6 per cent from the same time last year. year, higher-than-usual activity and continued challenges in hotter The good news, says Elton Ash, regional executive vice president,markets (e.g., Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, etc.) mean reloca-RE/MAX of Western Canada, is that the situation wont be tighttion stakeholders still have their work cut out for them.22PERSPECTIVES Fall 2021'