Lack of inventory will be the greatest challenge facing housing markets across the country this Spring, according to a report released today by RE/MAX.
The RE/MAX Market Trends Report 2010, which examined real estate trends and developments in 16 markets across the country, found that unusually strong activity during one of the traditionally quietest months of the year has led to a sharp decline in active listings in 81 per cent of markets surveyed. The threat of higher interest rates, tighter lending criteria, and in British Columbia and Ontario, the introduction of the new Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) have clearly served to kick-start real estate activity from coast-to-coast, prompting an unprecedented influx of purchasers. As a result, 87.5 per cent of markets posted an increase in...
According to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association, the number of homes sold through the Multiple Listing Service(R) (MLS(R)) Systems of Canadian real estate Boards declined in January 2010 from the previous month. Seasonally adjusted national home sales dropped 2.8 per cent from near record levels reported in December. Ontario accounted for about half the national decline. Activity was also down in British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba, but reached new heights in Quebec.
Actual (not seasonally adjusted) residential sales activity in January 2010 was up 58 per cent from year ago levels, when national home sales activity reached the lowest level in a decade. Because activity began recovering in February last year, large year-over-year gains are expected to shrink...
but it's not a bubble economists say
Canada's housing market is on the rebound after a decline in 2009 with resales expected to set a new annual record this year and home building is off to a strong start, according to two reports Monday. There in't a bubble because of a lack of speculation in the real estate market, said Scotiabank senior economist Adrienne Warren.
Prices are being driven by more buyers than sellers, not unexpected with a tight supply, and buyers may be overpaying a little in some markets, she said.
"We don't think there's a bubble," she said from Toronto.
The Canadian Real Estate Association is forecasting resales for homes will set a record in 2010, largely driven by activity in the first six months of this year.
The resale housing market is expected to reach...
Sales of existing homes reached a record high for the month of December, according the Canadian Real Estate Association, with annual sales coming in above 2008 levels. “Sales activity in 2009 came in like a lamb and went out like a lion,” CREA president Dale Ripplinger said in a release Friday.
“The continuation of unusually low interest rates may keep national sales activity near current levels over the coming months, as will a blip in housing demand in Ontario and British Columbia from homebuyers motivated to beat the introduction of the HST (harmonized sales tax).”
There were 27,744 units sold in December, up 72% from a year earlier “when activity dropped to the lowest level in a decade,” CREA said.
Record highs for the month were reported in Ontario, Quebec,...
Consumer confidence ends on a stronger footing.
National consumer confidence ended the year 2009 on a stronger footing compared to pre-recession levels, despite having edged down slightly the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter. According to the Conference Board of Canada’s index of consumer confidence, confidence eased slightly in the fourth quarter for the first time in three quarterly periods. The decrease in confidence reflects weakening sentiment about making major purchases.
The balance of sentiment about making major purchases, such as a home or a car, dipped slightly into negative territory in the fourth quarter. It had turned positive in the third quarter for the first time since the first quarter of 2008.
A negative balance of sentiment means more survey...
According to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association, existing home sales activity remained upbeat in November 2009. The current strength of housing demand stands in sharp contrast to weak activity recorded one year ago. A total of 36,383 residential properties traded hands via the Multiple Listing Service(R) (MLS(R)) of Canadian real estate boards in November 2009. Up 73 per cent from year-ago levels, activity was down just four tenths of a per cent from the highest level of activity for the month posted in November 2007. Home sales set new records for the month of November in Ontario and Quebec.
"National home sales activity last month shows how strongly the housing market has rebounded since the beginning of the year," said CREA President Dale Ripplinger. "As we...
But homeownership gets less affordable, says RBC Economics.
Ontario's housing market has recovered its past strength with rising home prices contributing to a decline in affordability for the first time since early 2008, according to the latest third quarter housing report released today by RBC Economics Research.
"Ontario's housing market has experienced a remarkable turnaround with price levels returning to and, in some cases, surpassing earlier peaks," said Robert Hogue, senior economist, RBC. "The downside is that rising property values and a modest increase in mortgage rates have negatively affected affordability, after significant improvement over the past year."
Hogue noted that housing affordability improved considerably throughout most of 2008 and the first half of 2009,...
Canadian resale housing activity climbed to the highest level of any third quarter on record.
Actual (not seasonally adjusted) home sales via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) Systems of Canadian real estate boards totalled 135,182 units in the third quarter of 2009, according to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). This is the highest level of activity on record for the period from July to September. The number of transactions was up 18 per cent from the third quarter of last year, representing the biggest year-over-year increase since early 2002.
Seasonally adjusted national MLS® home sales numbered 127,941 units in the third quarter, up 12 per cent from the previous quarter. Building on two previous quarterly increases, seasonally adjusted MLS®...
Lag in seasonal sales cycle brought on by the recession, coupled with undersupply, creates illusion that market is booming.
Canada’s housing market is on the road to recovery but is experiencing a pronounced undersupply of homes for sale in southern Ontario and other regions of the country, according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey. With the recession retreating, the report found that home prices are stabilizing and unit sales are increasingly driven by improved affordability.
The market’s strong showing in the third quarter has led some commentators to refer to the current conditions as the beginning of a real estate boom. Royal LePage cautions that the increase in sales activity and firming of house prices are the product of a normal market correction and not the beginning...
Low interest rates continue to attract home buyers to the housing market.
Home resales held steady on a monthly basis in August, but increased by 18.5 per cent compared to the same time last year, the Canadian Real Estate Association said today. A total of 42,483 homes traded hands across the country through the MLS listing service. Housing resales in Vancouver increased by 117% over last year's levels.
The annualized gain represents the third consecutive year-over-year gain of more than 15 per cent, and it's the largest year-over-year gain in more than two years.
Sales volumes were up in most major markets across the country, according to data from the Multiple Listing Service, the national residential average price rose 11.3 per cent from year-ago levels to $324,779.
"A rebound in...
Canada's resale housing market for July posted the largest year-over-year gain in two years, with Western homebuyers leading the way, according to statistics released Friday by The Canadian Real Estate Association. For the first time on record, sales of existing homes climbed to more than 50,000 units for July.
A total of 50,270 homes were sold last month via the Multiple Listing Service of Canadian real estate boards. This is up 18.2 per cent from the same month last year, and 3.9 per cent above the previous record for July that was set in 2007.
"The difference in the resale housing market now, compared to the beginning of the year, is night and day, and nowhere is this more evident than in the West," association president Dale Ripplinger said in a release.
"Homebuyers recognize that...
The Canadian Real Estate Association reports that national resale housing continued to rise in May.
The Canadian resale housing market activity returned to pre-recession levels in May 2009. The rebound in activity is being led by an increase in transactions in some of the most expensive markets in the country, which is skewing the national average price upward. According to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), actual (not seasonally adjusted) home sales via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) of Canadian real estate boards totaled 49,521 units in May 2009. This is less than one per cent below activity in the same month one year ago. Year-over-year declines have been shrinking since the beginning of the year.
The seasonal increase in activity continues...
Housing markets in a handful of neighbourhoods in Canada's major cities have dodged the recession and experienced robust price increases over the past year, according to a Century 21 Canada "HOTTEST 21 NEIGHBOURHOODS" survey released today.
Century 21 Canada also reported that more than a hundred other big city neighbourhoods are experiencing resurgent house prices after months of languishing in the recession doldrums.
Century 21 Canada said Canada's HOTTEST 21 NEIGHBOURHOODS for housing prices are located in five major cities and 10 suburbs of major cities:
Over the past year, from April 2008 to April 2009, average prices in these HOTTEST 21 NEIGHBOURHOODS increased by up to 17%.
Over the past month, from March 2009 to April 2009, average prices in these HOTTEST 21...
Canadian housing starts rose 9.2 percent in May, slightly better than expected, and was broadly based and encompassed both single and multiple segments, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp (CMHC) said on Monday. New home construction rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 128,400 units in May from 117,600 units units in April, CMHC said.
The number of starts in May beat analysts' consensus expectations of 125,300 starts.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts rose 11.1 percent to 107,800 units in May. Urban multiple starts rose to 60,900 units, while urban single starts climbed to 46,900 units in May.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts in May rose 22 percent in Ontario, 16.8 percent in the Prairies, 7.3 percent in Atlantic Canada and 3.3 percent in...
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate relaunches in Canada targeting Echo Boomers.
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC officially announced Friday it will revive its brand across Canada after reopening in the United States last summer, following a 10-year absence. Sherry Chris, the Canadian-born president and CEO of Parsippany, New Jersey based BHG Real Estate, said the timing of the brand's launch, in what she calls "the worst real estate market in 100 years," was out of her control.
BHG Real Estate's parent company, privately held Realogy Corp., had been negotiating for a few years to get back the trademark that was sold to GMAC more than ten years ago. It came due in July 2008. "In retrospect I am going to say it is a blessing in disguise," Chris said of the timing.
While...
Affordability and job security are the most important factors for first-time home-buyers. New government incentives help but market fundamentals more important, Canadians say.
Canadians who are considering purchasing their first home are primarily motivated by lower home prices and very low interest rates, but some require confidence in the economy and their employment prospects before they will enter the market, according to a report released today by Royal LePage Real Estate Services. Eighty-six per cent of potential first-time buyers say low interest rates make them more likely to purchase a home; 81 per cent cite lower housing prices as a motivating factor; while 76 per cent cite job security and 64 per cent say a stable economy is an important factor in their decision to buy....
Canada's home resale market showing signs of recovery as it rises for third straight month.
Canada's housing market shows every sign of having bounced back from its recessionary bottom, with both the number and price of homes rising for the third straight month in April. The Canadian Real Estate Association said homes sales soared 11.2 per cent on a seasonally adjusted basis from March, the biggest jump in five years, and with 34,838 units trading hands, the highest level in seven months.
Meanwhile, the national average sale price of homes listed by realtors also rose in April to $306,366 in April. But while encouraging, the report noted that both sales activity and prices remain at levels lower than a year ago, indicating the housing market has yet to fully recover to pre-recession...
TD Bank Economics summarizes the current state of the Canadian real estate market.
During Canada’s “Housing Boom”, which ran roughly from 2002 to 2008, unsustainable price increases drove unsustainable levels of building. Our view is that house prices exceeded the value of housing that was justified by fundamentals by approximately 9% nationwide. This overpricing compelled a level of residential construction that exceeded its fundamental-justified level by approximately 12%, an excess that was exaggerated in the past three years.
By “overpricing” we mean that prices detached from their fundamentals, as witnessed by a steep erosion of affordability. The current unwinding of house prices reflects both a cyclical downturn and a return of house prices to fundamentally justified...
March sees home re-sales in Calgary Metro at 1,086
Sales activity of single family Calgary metro homes was 1,086 in the month of March 2009 showing an increase of 32 per cent from 825 sales in February 2009, according to figures released by the Calgary Real Estate Board. This was a decrease of 23 per cent from March 2008 when single family home sales were 1,418. The number of condominium sales for the month of March 2009 was 446, an increase of 30 per cent from the 343 condominium transactions recorded in February 2009 and a decrease of 21 per cent from March 2008 when 565 condominiums changed hands.
"The Calgary market is slowly shaking off its winter blues," said Calgary Real Estate Board President, Bonnie Wegerich. "Spring has brought a nice uptick in sales this month and the...
Homes in Windsor selling for less than new cars: Windsor-Essex County Real Estate Board
Real estate prices in Windsor-Essex are dropping lower than what it would cost to buy a new car. Mark Imeson, president of the Windsor-Essex County Real Estate Board, says he has seen houses selling for just $25,000. He blames the low prices on the rising number of so-called power-of-sale properties, which have been taken back by the bank and turned over to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. for sale.
Imeson says some houses are selling for what the lot alone is worth. He says last month, the majority of real estate sales in Windsor-Essex were for less than $100,000.
But he also says the lower prices could be a catalyst for people thinking of moving into the area.
So let's all move to...
House prices and sales continued to slide across Canada in February compared to the same time last year, but activity was up for the first time since September.
The Canadian Real Estate Association said Monday that resale home prices fell 9.2% across Canada last month to an average of $281,972. Sales fell 31% to 25,373 units in February, the smallest year-over-year decline since October 2008. Seasonally adjusted sales fell 26.8%.
The association, known as CREA, also said the number of homes that traded hands on the multiple listing service, or MLS, was up 8.6 per cent above seasonally adjusted levels in January.
"It looks like the Category 5 hurricane which had been pounding the home resale market has been downgraded to 'just' a Category 4," BMO Capital Markets economist Douglas Porter...
Real estate market remained soft, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says.
The Canadian housing authority, CMHC, reported that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts fell to 134,600 units last month, down from an annualized rate of 153,500 units in January. "Increased listings and reduced sales in the existing home market continue to impact the new home market," said Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC's market analysis centre.
"The decrease in February housing starts is partly attributable to the volatile multiple starts segment. In any given month and given its relative importance, the volatility of the multiple starts segment can exaggerate monthly movements up or down in the rate of housing starts," Dugan said.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts...
Home Prices Increase While Sales Drop
In the Montreal Metropolitan Area MLS sales decreased by 30 per cent in February 2009 compared to the same month last year while, at the same time, the median price of single-family homes increased by 2 per cent, reported the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board. "Sales are still slow in comparison to last year at the same time, but the positive sign is that prices are still up over last year, with condos leading the way with a 6 per cent increase in pricing," said Michel Beausejour, FCA, Chief Executive Officer of the GMREB.
"For the second consecutive month, there has been a decrease in the number of new listings," added Beausejour. "This is an interesting situation because it shows that, despite the economic situation and the lack of consumer...
But sales and prices pale in comparison with February 2008.
Activity in Calgary’s resale housing market picked up last month from a dismal January as average sale prices stabilized, according to February MLS data. Sales activity of single family Calgary metro homes was 825 in the month of February 2009 showing an increase of 33 per cent from 550 sales in January 2009, according to figures released by the Calgary Real Estate Board.
This was a decrease of 34 per cent from February 2008 when single family home sales were 1,252. The number of condominium sales for the month of February 2009 was 343, an increase of 52 per cent from the 225 condominium transactions recorded in January 2009 and a decrease of 39 per cent from February 2008 when 562 condominiums changed hands....
Real estate prices in Canada predicted to fall back to 2000 levels
Property sales in Canada this year are expected to drop back to 2000 levels before rebounding in 2010, according to a new report from the Canadian Real Estate Association. The Ottawa-based group, which represents 100 boards across the country, issued a new forecast for 2009 and predicted sales would fall to 360,900. That would be a 16.9% decline from 2008. Sales last year fell 17.1% from 2007.
'We are caught in a cycle where consumer confidence has been eroded because of job losses and consumer confidence is an essential ingredient for housing sales activity,' said Calvin Lindberg, president of CREA.
His group is forecasting a rebound by 2010 and forecasts sales to jump to 9.9%, with most of the growth coming in the...
January home resales down 40.9 per cent from a year ago; prices sag 11.3 per cent
Midwinter keeps growing bleaker for the economy, with the number of home resales in January sagging 40.9 per cent below a year ago. National average prices declined 11.3 per cent year-over-year, according to Canadian Real Estate Association data released Friday.
The association said seasonally adjusted sales through the Multiple Listing Service were down 3.1 per cent from December. "In seasonally adjusted terms, sales ... now stand at the lowest level since the mid-1990s and barely half the heated pace seen in early 2007," BMO Capital Markets economist Douglas Porter commented after the CREA release.
"While another particularly harsh winter may have played a small role in the dismal sales figures, there...
Drop in Sales but Prices Continue to Climb
Montreal Metropolitan Area MLS® real estate sales declined by 37 per cent in January 2009 compared to the same month last year while, at the same time, median prices of single-family homes increased by 3 per cent, reported the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board.
"It's obvious that the sales decline is mostly due to a drop in consumer confidence," said Michel Beausejour, FCA, Chief Executive Officer of the GMREB. "It's not surprising to see this decline, even though the real estate market has been quite solid for the last 30 years or so, which is as far back as our statistics go.
"For example, you just have to look at prices in Montreal, which continue to increase slowly but surely at the current time. This is contrary to what's happening in...
Housing construction, sales, and prices, all down
There are more signs Canada's housing market is facing a significant slowdown after a double-digit percentage drop in home construction starts last month and a forecast that sales and prices will slide this year. As the recession digs in and the unemployment rate rises, economists say nervous consumers are standing still when it comes to buying and selling real estate.
The results are increasing numbers of dwellings on the market, dropping prices and a slowdown in construction. "The Canadian housing correction is in full swing, having a wide impact across the country," BMO Capital Markets economist Robert Kavcic commented Monday.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported housing starts fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of...
Buyers continue to have choice and affordability.
Sales activity of single family homes was 550 in the month of January 2009 showing an increase of 22 per cent from 449 sales in December 2008, according to figures released by the Calgary Real Estate Board. This was a decrease of 49 per cent from January 2008 when single family home sales were 1,083. The number of condominium sales for the month of January 2009 was 225, an increase of 9.8 per cent from the 205 condominium transactions recorded in December 2008. This was a decrease of 50 per cent from January 2008 when 454 condominiums changed hands.
"Indeed it is a tough market, but I am pleased to see sales picking up this month over December. Although our numbers are down from January 2008, we are seeing increased activity...
Neither boom nor bust, but holding steady.
Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 530 residential properties in January through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 652 in January 2008, a decrease of 18.7 per cent. There were 467 sales in December 2008.
“While the market in Ottawa may not be booming, it’s certainly not a bust either. Sales declined the same amount in January as they did in December, which tells me that buyer confidence is holding steady here in the national capital,” said Board President Rick Snell.
“Also, most homes in Ottawa are holding their value, in spite of the fact that winter is always a quieter time of year for real estate, and in the face of a generally pessimistic economic outlook across Canada,” Snell added.
The...