Saturday, July 16, 2011

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Canadian home sales pick up in June

OTTAWA – July 15, 2011 – According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), home

sales activity over MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards climbed in June 2011 compared to May.

Highlights:

• Sales activity climbed from May to June, with a big year-over-year gain reflecting falling demand in June 2010.

• Year-to-date sales remain in line with the ten-year average.

• The number of newly listed homes also rose from May to June.

• National housing market remains firmly entrenched in balanced territory.

• National average price still being skewed upward by the value of sales in expensive Vancouver neighbourhoods, with

price gains in other markets providing additional loft.

Seasonally adjusted national home sales activity rose 2.6 per cent in June 2011 compared to the previous month. Two-thirds of local

markets posted month-over-month gains in June.

Activity remained stable in Toronto while declining slightly in Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Major markets that saw gains compared

to May included Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, London, Hamilton, and Victoria.

“Canadian housing demand remains resilient, thanks to low interest rates, job growth, and home buyer confidence in the economy,”

said Gary Morse, CREA’s President. “That said, local housing market trends often differ from national trends, so buyers and sellers

should consult their local REALTOR® to understand how the housing market is shaping up where they live.”

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity came in 10.8 per cent above June 2010

levels, but this largely reflects falling sales activity last June. This was also the

case for the year-over-year increase in activity in May. Year-over-year comparisons

in July may also be stretched by falling activity one year ago, since July 2010

marked the low point for activity last year.

“The Canadian housing sector remains on a solid footing,” said Gregory Klump,

CREA’s Chief Economist. “The rise in monthly home sales activity at the end of the

second quarter, upbeat business sentiment and hiring intentions, and signs that

the Bank of Canada is in no rush to raise interest rates bode well for home sales

activity and prices going into the second half of 2011.”

National sales activity was down 4.7 per cent in the second quarter compared to

levels in the first quarter. This in part reflects how new mortgage rules announced

in January and implemented at the end of March pulled sales forward into the first

quarter at the expense of sales activity in April and May. Mortgage interest rates

also rose in April and May, which may have moved some home buyers to the

sidelines.

A total of 245,170 homes have traded hands via Canadian MLS® Systems in the

first half of 2011. Year-to-date sales activity is running in line with the ten-year

average, with monthly sales activity having come close to the ten-year average

from January to June this year (Chart A). This highlights the relative stability of

demand this year compared to the past three years, when activity swung significantly

above and below average monthly levels.

٭ Data table available to media upon request, for purposes

of reprinting only.

Chart A

News Release

The Canadian Real Estate Association

The number of newly listed homes also rose nationally by 1.8 per cent from May to June. Gains in Toronto, Vancouver, and Ottawa

contributed most to the national increase. The rise in new listings will be especially welcome news for home buyers in Toronto, where

listings have been in short supply relative to demand this year.

The national housing market remains firmly planted in balanced territory. The national sales-to-new listings ratio, a measure of market

balance, stood at 52.6 per cent in June, little changed from 52.2 per cent in May.

About 60 per cent of local housing markets in Canada were balanced in June. Almost half of the remainder can be classified as sellers’

markets, based on a sales-to-new listings ratio above 60 per cent.

The seasonally adjusted number of months of inventory stood at six months at the end of June on a national basis, holding steady

compared to May. The number of months of inventory represents the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at

the current rate of sales activity, and is another measure of the balance between housing supply and demand.

The national average price for homes sold in June 2011 was $372,700, up 8.7 per cent from the same month last year. The national

average price is becoming less affected by the overall number of sales in some expensive Vancouver neighbourhoods, but is still

being pitched higher by the value of those sales. Activity in these neighbourhoods has eased from levels reported in February and

March, while sales elsewhere across Canada have risen in line with normal seasonal trends. As a result, property sales above

$1 million in Vancouver West, West Vancouver, and Richmond now account for a smaller but still elevated share of national activity.

While the effect of Vancouver activity on the national average price has begun to wane, broadly based price gains in other housing

markets are holding the national average price aloft. Close to 80 per cent of local markets posted year-over-year average price gains

in June. This includes Toronto, where price gains reflect a tight balance between supply and demand.

PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national MLS® sales

information from the previous month.

CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual

prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighborhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas.

Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types.

MLS® is a co-operative marketing system used only by Canada’s real estate Boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed

for sale.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than

100,000 REALTORS® working through more than 100 real estate Boards and Associations.

Further information can be found at http://www.crea.ca/public/news_stats/media.htm.

- 30 -

For more information, please contact:

Linda Kristal, Director of Communications

The Canadian Real Estate Association

Tel.: 613-237-7111 or 613-447-4532

E-mail: lkristal@crea.ca

Jonathan J. Knight

Broker - Re/Max Clearview

Inc. Brokerage Independantly

Owned and Operated

O - 705 428 4500

P - 705 441 6839

F - 705 428 5951

www.CollingwoodAreaRealEstate.ca

Posted via email from collingwoodarearealestate @ posterous

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