reportonbusiness.com: PROPERTY: RESALE HOUSING MARKET CALMS DOWN:
PROPERTY: RESALE HOUSING MARKET CALMS DOWNThe resale housing market stabilized somewhat last month, Lori McLeod writes, as a larger number of sellers abandoned hopes of cashing in on the dwindling boom
PRICES FALL AGAIN
Prices for existing homes fell by 6.2 per cent in September from last year, the fourth such monthly decline, according to a report yesterday from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
SALES LEVEL OFF
Sales were flat, and new listings rose by 12.3 per cent year over year, but levelled off from the peak reached in the second quarter. Unlike in the United States, there have been few distressed sales in Canada. This means many sellers can afford to wait it out, CREA chief economist Gregory Klump said. In Edmonton, for example, listings fell by 20 per cent in September. Sales, by contrast, rose by 66 per cent from the year before.
RESALE PICKS UP
Last month was the first since November, 2007, when the average number of existing homes sold did not drop noticeably on a year-over-year basis. Some of the pick-up might have been the result of buyers getting into the market before the elimination of zero-down mortgages, Mr. Klump said. Ottawa stopped insuring the products yesterday to avoid a U.S.-style housing bubble.
LATE BLOOMERS
Unlike in Calgary and Edmonton, new listings remained higher in cities including Saskatoon and Regina, where booms that started later in the housing cycle are now tapering off. In Saskatoon, sales fell by 21 per cent year over year in September, while listings rose by 55 per cent. In Regina, sales fell 1 per cent, while new listings rose 54 per cent.
THE BIG CENTRES
In Vancouver, where a lack of affordability has caught up with the market, sales fell by 43 per cent. In Toronto, sales fell 7 per cent and in Montreal, sales rose 13 per cent.
*****
While the hottest real estate markets continued to cool last month, the overall picture is becoming more stable, according to a new report.
DOLLAR VOLUME
CALGARY EDMONTON MONTREAL SASKATOON TORONTO VANCOUVER $870-million (-2.5%) $561.8-million (56.6%) $802.1-million (17.8%) $73.3-million (-3.0%) $2,363.8-million (-9.4%) $867.7-million (-47.8%) AVERAGE PRICE
CALGARY EDMONTON MONTREAL SASKATOON TORONTO VANCOUVER $390,599 (-6.0%) $324,906 (-5.6%) $262,134 (-4.4%) $297,836 (23.0%) $368,945 (-2.9%) $535,598 (-8.0%) NEW LISTINGS
CALGARY EDMONTON MONTREAL SASKATOON TORONTO VANCOUVER 4,709 (-11.7%) 3,142 (-19.8%) 6,984 (10.6%) 825 (54.8%) 16,305 (19.4%) 6,322 (26.7%) TRISH McALASTER/THE GLOBE AND MAIL
SOURCE: CANADIAN REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION