Canadian home resale prices in six cities were up 13.6 per cent in May compared to a year earlier, according to a report issued Wednesday.
The Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index measured resale prices in Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal and Halifax.
It found the biggest gains were in Vancouver, where prices rose 17.1 per cent, and Toronto, where they are up 16.0 per cent.
The 12-month rise ranged from 5.6 per cent in Halifax to 11.4 per cent in Ottawa. In Calgary, it was 7.8 per cent and in Montreal, 8.5 per cent.
And for the second consecutive month, prices rose in May over April in all six metropolitan areas surveyed.
The monthly rise of the composite index, at 1.3 per cent, was the largest since last September.
Ottawa led the cities with the largest monthly rise, at 2.3 per cent.
Prices rose 1.8 per cent in Montreal, 1.2 per cent in Vancouver and Calgary, 1.1 per cent in Toronto and 0.7 per cent in Halifax.
The index tracks prices for homes that have been sold at least twice, using data collected from public land registries.
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Thursday, July 29, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Home sales continue to drop
Garry Marr, Financial Post · Thursday, Jul. 15, 2010
Existing home sales continued their rapid decline last month with 70% of markets showing a drop in sales in June from May, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.
The Ottawa-based group, which has 100 boards across the country, said sales were off 8.2% from a month ago on a seasonally adjusted basis. Toronto and Calgary led the decline.
CREA said tighter mortgage rules and rising rates are slowing the market which declined 13.3% from first quarter which had close to record sales.
"As expected, these two national factors contributed to a widespread decline in activity, with transactions down in all but a dozen or so smaller markets," said CREA.
Actual sales activity was down 19.7% in June 2010 from a year ago when there was a record amount of sales. Sales activity for the second quarter is actually down 2.8% from a year ago but for the year to date sales are still up 13.6%.
The number of Canadians putting their homes up for sale is declining which should be good for the market. The number of new listings on the market in June dropped 6.8% from May.
Price increases are also starting to slow. CREA said the national average sales price rose just 4.9% from a year ago to $342,662.
CREA chief economist Gregory Klump said there could be help on the way for prices in the coming months. "With interest rates on the rise, housing affordability and home sales activity are expected to continue to erode over the second half of 2010. While the pricing environment is becoming more challenging, a recovering economy and job market will provide support for housing activity and prices," he said
The number of months of inventory in the market, which represents the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity, is also rising fast. It was 5.7 months at the end of June 2010 nationally, up from 4.2 months a year ago.
"The housing market is becoming more challenging for sellers," said Georges Pahud, CREA president. "Buyers are in less of a hurry."
Existing home sales continued their rapid decline last month with 70% of markets showing a drop in sales in June from May, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.
The Ottawa-based group, which has 100 boards across the country, said sales were off 8.2% from a month ago on a seasonally adjusted basis. Toronto and Calgary led the decline.
CREA said tighter mortgage rules and rising rates are slowing the market which declined 13.3% from first quarter which had close to record sales.
"As expected, these two national factors contributed to a widespread decline in activity, with transactions down in all but a dozen or so smaller markets," said CREA.
Actual sales activity was down 19.7% in June 2010 from a year ago when there was a record amount of sales. Sales activity for the second quarter is actually down 2.8% from a year ago but for the year to date sales are still up 13.6%.
The number of Canadians putting their homes up for sale is declining which should be good for the market. The number of new listings on the market in June dropped 6.8% from May.
Price increases are also starting to slow. CREA said the national average sales price rose just 4.9% from a year ago to $342,662.
CREA chief economist Gregory Klump said there could be help on the way for prices in the coming months. "With interest rates on the rise, housing affordability and home sales activity are expected to continue to erode over the second half of 2010. While the pricing environment is becoming more challenging, a recovering economy and job market will provide support for housing activity and prices," he said
The number of months of inventory in the market, which represents the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity, is also rising fast. It was 5.7 months at the end of June 2010 nationally, up from 4.2 months a year ago.
"The housing market is becoming more challenging for sellers," said Georges Pahud, CREA president. "Buyers are in less of a hurry."
Friday, July 9, 2010
‘Moderate decline’ forecast for Toronto house prices
Tony Wong, BUSINESS REPORTER
Average house prices in the Toronto market are forecast to start trending down in the second half of 2010, according to a house price survey by Royal LePage.
The real estate services company said Wednesday that house prices are expected to increase by 7 per cent by the end of this year compared with 2009. But those increases were frontloaded to the first six months of the year as buyers tried to take advantage of low interest rates and lower taxes.
“This growth has already been accounted for in the first half,” said Gino Romanese, senior vice president of Royal lePage. “Average prices are expected to decline moderately for the remainder of the year.”
The first six months of the year have seen double digit gains, a torrid pace at which analysts have consistently warned is unsustainable.
Some economists have said the market is overvalued by as much as 30 per cent in some parts of the country. Others have revised their forecasts downward because of the surprising strength of the market in the last year which has pulled sales forward.
Meanwhile volatility in the stock markets has some analysts worried that this will impact the housing sector.
“Economic indicators have improved, but my tone is becoming more grumpy,” said Toronto housing economist Will Dunning. “Recent volatility in the stock market it leads to a substantial correction could also set off a correction for the housing market.”
Volatility in the stock markets creates uncertainty for buyers who may have much of their wealth and retirement income tied up in equities. Concerns over whether the global economy is in for a W shaped recession is high on the list after problems with debt in the Euro-zone.
“There is a high degree of uncertainty, but it seems to me that economic risks are bigger on the downside than on the upside,” said Dunning.
In the second quarter of 2010, standard two storey homes in Toronto increased 10.5 per cent year over year to $589,857 according to Royal LePage.
Detached bungalows increased by 11.5 per cent to $481,933. Standard condominiums were up by 7.7 per cent to $326,913.
“I’m not convinced that recent strength in the stock market or in housing values are sustainable,” said Dunning in his most pessimistic report released this year.
Sales agents are already reporting that homes are sitting longer on the market as buyers have much more choice.
Existing home activity for June was down by 23 per cent from a year earlier, according to a report by the Toronto Real Estate Board released Tuesday.
“Some moderation of activity in the second half will be welcome news to Toronto’s potential buyers who have been frustrated by the frenetic market,” said Royal LePage.
While other analysts have been using the “bubble” word to describe the Toronto market, Royal LePage characterized the market as stable.
“This should not be interpreted as a severe correction but rather a natural reaction to the market having peaked earlier this year,” said CEO and President Phil Soper. “An increase in the supply of homes on the market will now bring stabilization in prices and in some cities we will see both prices and unit sales decline towards the end of the year.”
Average house prices in the Toronto market are forecast to start trending down in the second half of 2010, according to a house price survey by Royal LePage.
The real estate services company said Wednesday that house prices are expected to increase by 7 per cent by the end of this year compared with 2009. But those increases were frontloaded to the first six months of the year as buyers tried to take advantage of low interest rates and lower taxes.
“This growth has already been accounted for in the first half,” said Gino Romanese, senior vice president of Royal lePage. “Average prices are expected to decline moderately for the remainder of the year.”
The first six months of the year have seen double digit gains, a torrid pace at which analysts have consistently warned is unsustainable.
Some economists have said the market is overvalued by as much as 30 per cent in some parts of the country. Others have revised their forecasts downward because of the surprising strength of the market in the last year which has pulled sales forward.
Meanwhile volatility in the stock markets has some analysts worried that this will impact the housing sector.
“Economic indicators have improved, but my tone is becoming more grumpy,” said Toronto housing economist Will Dunning. “Recent volatility in the stock market it leads to a substantial correction could also set off a correction for the housing market.”
Volatility in the stock markets creates uncertainty for buyers who may have much of their wealth and retirement income tied up in equities. Concerns over whether the global economy is in for a W shaped recession is high on the list after problems with debt in the Euro-zone.
“There is a high degree of uncertainty, but it seems to me that economic risks are bigger on the downside than on the upside,” said Dunning.
In the second quarter of 2010, standard two storey homes in Toronto increased 10.5 per cent year over year to $589,857 according to Royal LePage.
Detached bungalows increased by 11.5 per cent to $481,933. Standard condominiums were up by 7.7 per cent to $326,913.
“I’m not convinced that recent strength in the stock market or in housing values are sustainable,” said Dunning in his most pessimistic report released this year.
Sales agents are already reporting that homes are sitting longer on the market as buyers have much more choice.
Existing home activity for June was down by 23 per cent from a year earlier, according to a report by the Toronto Real Estate Board released Tuesday.
“Some moderation of activity in the second half will be welcome news to Toronto’s potential buyers who have been frustrated by the frenetic market,” said Royal LePage.
While other analysts have been using the “bubble” word to describe the Toronto market, Royal LePage characterized the market as stable.
“This should not be interpreted as a severe correction but rather a natural reaction to the market having peaked earlier this year,” said CEO and President Phil Soper. “An increase in the supply of homes on the market will now bring stabilization in prices and in some cities we will see both prices and unit sales decline towards the end of the year.”
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