Why sales of property in Canada remain stable
Wednesday 24th of August 2011
Low mortgage rates and confidence in the housing market resulted in stable sales of Property In Canada during July. New figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show that residential property sales were stable in July compared to June with gains in some markets.
Sales of Property In Canada remain stable
CREA president Gary Morse said: “The continued stability in national sales activity shows that homebuyers remain confident about the soundness of investing in a home. Mortgage interest rates are low and keeping home affordability within reach, making it an excellent time for buyers to take advantage of very favourable financing,”
Actual sales activity was 12.3 per cent above the national levels reported a year ago. CREA attributed this increase to weakened activity in July 2010, when monthly sales levels reached their lowest point since 2002.
A total of 284,537 homes have been sold via the Canadian MLS Systems so far this year. This is 1.6 per cent fewer than the first seven months of 2010, although it continues to run in line with the ten year average.
Edmonton, Montreal, Newfoundland and Labrador saw the number of residential properties sold increase between June and July 2011.
The figures also show that the average price for Canadian Properties sold in July 2011 was $361,181 £221,410) – up 9.3 per cent from twelve months ago.
Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist, said: “Earlier this year, the national average price was being skewed upward by sales in some expensive Vancouver neighbourhoods, but this factor is now diminishing.
“The national share of sales activity in some of Canada’s more expensive urban centres may retreat further from elevated levels recorded earlier this year, resulting in an easing trend for the national average home price. Even so, the stability of Canada’s housing market will likely continue to stand in stark contrast to further expected volatility in financial markets.”
