Canadian home sales fall from a year ago but prices climb
The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales in June were down from a year ago but up from the previous month.
The association says sales last month were down 0.6% from a year ago, but up 3.3% when compared with May.
Looking at the city-by-city picture, when compared with a year ago, home sales in Toronto and Montreal were lower, while Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton were up compared with last June.
Despite the overall drop in sales from June 2012, the national average sale price last month was up 4.8% from a year ago.
The number of newly listed homes were down 0.5% on a month-over-month basis in June.
The association says some 240,068 homes have sold in Canada through its MLS system so far this year, down 6.9% from the first half of 2012.
Source: Canadian Press
July 16th, 2013 at 9:27 pm
So even though Toronto is down (which is the highest priced market if I’m correct), the price is still up. I assume there are sales of higher prices than usual in the areas with growth, I just wonder if there are any factors such as time of year, etc. that are affecting this.
July 17th, 2013 at 11:48 am
Hi, thanks for your comment.
Vancouver is the highest-priced market in Canada. Sales may be down from this time a year ago, but they are still climbing month on month with recently-posted figures showing a further increase for the fourth successive month. The main factor in boosting home sales seems to be the recent increase in fixed-rate mortgages from the main banks.
In terms of pricing, there are fewer listings on the market at the moment as demand has fallen, which tends to push prices up for those that are available. August is traditionally a slow time for real estate, so prices could drop down before potentially picking up again in September.
If/when the Bank of Canada decides to increase its base rate, expect to see a glut of properties coming on the market.