Canadian Real Estate Market Watch
- 11.07.2007
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
MLS home sales break records
A trio of resale housing activity records fell at the end of June 2007 in Canada’s major markets, according to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association.
In June 2007, a seasonally adjusted total of 31,300 homes traded hands via Board and Association MLS® systems in Canada’s major markets “ up 0.3 per cent from May. It was the highest monthly sales level on record and the third consecutive month in which activity scaled new heights. Sales shattered all previous monthly records in Regina, Toronto, Hamilton, Kitchener, Montréal and Saint John.
Seasonally adjusted home sales activity via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Canada’s major markets broke all previous quarterly records in the second quarter of 2007. Dollar volume, new listings and average price also reached new heights. Seasonally adjusted MLS® home sales numbered 93,164 units in the second quarter of 2007, which was an increase of 3.2 per cent over the previous record set in the first quarter.
The new record was fueled by a rise in activity in Vancouver, Toronto, Hamilton and Montréal. Transactions also set new quarterly records in a number of major markets including Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, London, Hamilton, Kitchener, Ottawa, Montréal, Québec City, Saint John and Halifax.
Transactions in the first half of 2007 numbered 203,560 units. This was an increase of nine per cent from the same period last year, and was the first time that major market sales activity surpassed 200,000 units during the first six months of any year. Year-to-date sales activity continues to run ahead of levels recorded last year in most major markets.
With sales having set consecutive quarterly records in the first and second quarters of this year, activity is on track for a new annual record in 2007.
Seasonally adjusted residential MLS® new listings numbered 149,364 units in the second quarter of 2007 “ the highest level of any quarter on record. The 5.3 per cent increase over the 141,829 units sold in the first quarter resulted from a large rise in the number of new listings in Edmonton and Calgary.
The quarterly increase in new listings caused the MLS® housing market to become slightly more balanced, but negotiations still strongly favor the seller in Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.
The major market MLS® residential average price rose 10.0 per cent year-over-year in the second quarter to set a new record. Average price also set a new monthly record in June, climbing 10.4 per cent year-over-year to $335,180. Average price reached the highest monthly level on record in Victoria, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Kitchener, Ottawa, Montréal, and Halifax. On a quarterly basis, the MLS® residential average price set records in almost all major markets.
“Canada’s resale market broke all previous records in the first half of 2007, and MLS® home sales activity remains on pace to set a new annual record this year,” said CREA President Ann Bosley. “Canada’s resale housing industry is a driving force behind the national economy, with the average MLS® home sale generating $32,200 in additional consumer spending above and beyond the purchase price. Resale housing’s contribution to the national economy is growing even larger as sales records continue to fall.”
“Rising mortgage interest rates encouraged many prospective buyers with pre-approved mortgages to get into the market before their lower pre-approved rates expired, and caused resale housing activity to accelerate in June,” explains CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump. “Resale housing activity will gradually ease back from the strong pace of the first half of the year as the higher interest rates begin to have an impact.”
