Canadian home sales edge higher in November
OTTAWA – December 15, 2011 – According to statistics1 released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA),
national resale housing activity rose slightly in November 2011 from the previous month.
Highlights:
• Sales activity rose slightly (+0.5 per cent) from October to November on a seasonally adjusted basis.
• Year-to-date sales remained in line with the 10 year average, but pulled further ahead of last year’s levels.
• The number of newly listed homes was down 3.4 per cent from October to November.
• The national housing market remains balanced, but is edging closer to seller’s market territory.
• The national average price posted a 4.6 per cent year-over-year gain in November, the smallest increase since January.
Sales activity recorded through the MLS® Systems of real estate Boards and Associations in Canada edged upward by one-half of
a percentage point. This marks the third straight month in which national activity was up from the previous month’s levels.
Activity rose in about 60 per cent of all local markets with a record November in the Halifax-Dartmouth region offsetting a dip in sales
in Toronto.
“The Canadian housing market is proving resilient in the face of ongoing global economic and financial uncertainty, to the benefit of
Canadian economic growth,” said Gary Morse, CREA’s President. “That said, some housing markets are picking up while others are
holding steady or consolidating, so buyers and sellers should talk to their local REALTOR® to understand current and prospective
trends in their local housing market.”
Throughout most months in 2011, actual (not seasonally adjusted) national home sales were in line with the 10-year average.
November sales marked a break in that pattern, climbing seven per cent above the 10 year average and reaching the fourth highest
level on record for the month. (Chart A)
“Toward the end of every year, there’s a natural inclination
to compare how momentum for national sales activity and
average price compare to the year before,” said Gregory
Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “National sales activity
picked up late last year, and November’s results suggest that
a similar trend may be playing out again this year. By contrast,
national average price also picked up toward the end of last
year, whereas this year it has held steady after having peaked
in the spring.”
“With interest rates expected to remain low for longer, the
housing sector will no doubt be closely watched for signs of
excess,” added Klump. “That said, current trends for resale
housing and new home construction suggest that tightened
mortgage regulations are working as intended and fostering
economic stability in Canada.”
A total of 432,048 homes have traded hands via Canadian
MLS® Systems so far this year, up 2.1 per cent from levels
in the first 11 months of 2010. The year-to-date sales figure
remains broadly in line (+0.7 per cent) with the average for
that period from 2001 to 2010.
1 All figures in this release, unless otherwise noted, are seasonally adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation. Removing regular seasonal variations enables
analysis of monthly changes and fundamental trends in the data.
٭ Data table available to media upon request, for purposes of reprinting only.
Chart A
News Release
The Canadian Real Estate Association
Compared to October, the number of newly listed homes fell 3.4 per cent in November. New listings slipped lower in more than
two-thirds of Canadian housing markets, with Toronto, the Hamilton-Burlington region, and Calgary contributing most to the national
decline.
The national housing market remains balanced, but is edging closer to seller’s market territory. The national sales-to-new listings
ratio, a measure of market balance, stood at 55.5 per cent in November, up from 53.4 per cent in October. This marks the third month
in which the national ratio has risen, and it now stands at its highest reading since the spring.
Based on a sales-to-new listings ratio of between 40 to 60 percent, just over half of local markets in Canada were balanced in
November, while a third of markets qualified as sellers’ markets.
The number of months of inventory nationally stood at six months at the end of November. It has held steady at about this level since
April, which is above levels posted during the first quarter. 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 actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold in November 2011 stood at $360,396. This represents a
year-over-year increase of 4.6 per cent, its smallest increase since January.
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 neighbourhoods 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