The real estate puzzle

Hot real estate market confuses experts

Canadians’ seemingly endless appetite for buying and selling houses will continue the resale market’s “astounding momentum” from the second quarter through the end of the year, according to a report released today. “Canada’s resale housing market finished the second quarter on strong and steady footing, surprising many by its astounding momentum,” said the report from Royal LePage Real Estate Services. Robust conditions are expected to prevail through the year as all regions experience a rise in average house prices, with double-digit gains in Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and Regina, the report said.

The national average house price is forecast to rise by 9.5 per cent, passing the $300,000 mark for the first time, to $303,300, the report added.

New to the stage of regional players exhibiting extreme home sales activity and searing house price increases is Saskatchewan, the report said. Record numbers of homes were sold in both Regina and Saskatoon in the second quarter as intense demand was driven by a swell of in-migration of Saskatchewanians returning from expensive Alberta living. These frenetic conditions are expected to continue, albeit at a more temperate pace, the report noted.

Energy-rich Alberta’s potent economy continued to attract in-migration; however, the runaway prices and activity that have characterized Calgary and Edmonton for the past 18 months have eased and will continue to return to more manageable conditions as the year progresses, the report said.

Anticipated growth of the oil sector in St. John’s, N.L., Saint John, N.B., and Fredericton is expected to create an abundance of jobs in Atlantic Canada and maintain the buoyancy of the eastern market, compensating for the significant loss of trades people who have flocked to Alberta, the report said.

Of the housing types surveyed, the highest average price appreciation occurred in detached bungalows, which rose by 15.4 per cent to $338,738, followed by standard two-storey properties, which rose 13.2 per cent to $399,469, and standard condominiums, which increased 15.1 per cent to $238,784 year-over-year.

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