Despite a downward trend in homes prices in Kitchener, the annual income you need to buy a home is actually going up.

According to Mortgage Broker Ratehub.ca, a household needs an annual salary of just over $153,750 per year to afford to buy a home in Kitchener with a 20 per cent down payment.

“I think it's going to be a quiet summer of buy and sell activity in Kitchener and the rest of Ontario. And then if rates stabilize, I expect to see the market come back together in the fall,” James Laird, co-CEO of Ratehub.ca and president of CanWise mortgage lender said.

Lennox Realty group gales representative Owen Lennox said the cost may price some out of the market, but he doesn't see home prices dropping much further at this point.

“We might see a little bit of a decrease still. But overall, I feel like our market should stabilize probably at least throughout the remainder of the year,” Lennox said.

Despite housing prices getting lower, rising interest rates are driving higher stress tests, which is in turn causing a different stress for buyers.

“Now they're worrying about the qualifying because now the rates are increasing, so they might be able to have more time to find homes now, but having a harder time getting the financing behind that,” Lennox said.

According to the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtors, recent interest rate hikes are causing house prices to be listed a bit lower. That is giving some people access to properties they couldn't afford before. It said most first time homebuyers focus their eyes on something below the average that can build value with time and now have more options.

“So they're looking forward to actually getting back into the market and understanding what a little bit more of a balanced market is like,” Megan Bell, president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Association of Realtors said. “Before I would have said 'you're probably looking at a condo, getting in building your equity. What we've seen now is you're actually getting a townhouse or depending on your purchase price, you're getting a semi.”'

“I would prefer to be shopping for a home right now, with higher interest rates but not having to go into a bidding war and compete against 19 other offers,” Laird said.

Laird recommends potential homebuyers talk to a professional before making any purchases or sales.

“Housing should never be a short term, buy now and sell in six months, that should not be the case. But if you're at a point in your life where you're ready to take the plunge, then I would go for it,” Laird said.