Looking for a home to buy in 2020? You may find lots of competition and not a lot to choose from.

Canadians hoping to buy a house in 2020 better brace themselves for limited choice and plenty of competition, the latest housing market data suggests.

While conditions remain ho-hum in the Prairies and Newfoundland and Labrador, in the rest of the country, there are plenty of buyers and not much for sale.

A lack of housing supply would be “the story” for 2020, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) warned in its housing market forecast in mid-December.

The latest national statistics, released by CREA Jan. 15, seemed to confirm the trend. The number of existing homes available for purchases was at a 12-year low in December, the association said.

READ MORE: Canada’s home prices rise 9.6 in December compared to a year ago, sales up almost 23%

The issue has been long in the making, according to CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart.