- Joined
- Aug 31, 2007
- Messages
- 39
I can`t believe i saw this( well ok i can considering the source!) Obviously these guys need to attend a few REIN meetings and look a little more long term! Enjoy!!
Housing boom over, Bank of Montreal says
By The Canadian Press - April 17, 2008
OTTAWA — Existing homes sales tumbled 13 per cent for the first three months of the year compared to last year and the resale market has become "more balanced" for the first time in nearly a decade, prompting one analyst to call the end of Canada`s hot housing market.
"Canada`s six-year housing market boom is officially over," Bank of Montreal economist Doug Porter said in response to the January-March survey released Thursday by the Canadian Real Estate Association.
"Aside from a few choice Prairie locales, sales are melting faster than this year`s snow pack," Porter said in a note.
"You know things are calming down quickly when the Canadian Real Estate Association says that the market is `more balanced compared to` any other quarter over the past nine years"
Porter said some of the previous hot markets, such as Calgary and Edmonton, have witnessed "spectacular declines in activity."
In Calgary, residential home sales slid 35.9 per cent or by 6,354 units during the quarter while new listings jumped 29.8 per cent, or by 16,794 units. Edmonton`s residential sales were also down, 29.8 per cent (4,071 units), and new listings were up 52.1 per cent (11,228 units).
CREA said that seasonally adjusted sales activity was down 7.1 per cent to 81,747 units in the quarter, compared to the previous quarter, which was the fourth-highest sales period ever.
The group said much of the slide was tied to lower activity in Toronto during February and March, because the city accounts for about a quarter of the country`s come sales in major markets.
Toronto saw its residential unit sales drop 13.4 per cent (17,721 units), though new listings were also down by seven per cent (36,885 units).
"Many major markets are becoming more balanced and price gains are becoming more modest as a result.
"This trend is forecast to continue, as rising mortgage carrying costs and property taxes erode affordability," CREA chief economist Gregory Klump said.
Other cities that saw large drops in sales in the first quarter include Vancouver, where sales slid 9.6 per cent, Winnipeg was down 7.7 per cent and Halifax fell 14.2 per cent.
Of the areas surveyed, sales were only up in Newfoundland by 14.3 per cent and Thunder Bay, Ont. by 9.5 per cent.
Overall, the average listing price in Canada was up 5.5 per cent to $327,620 in the January-March period, which is the weakest year-over-year quarterly increase since the end of 2001.
While the figure point to a slowdown in the Canadian housing market, CREA said there is no comparison to the housing slump south of the border.
"The residential average price continues to increase, unlike conditions in many U.S. markets," said CREA president Cal Lindberg.
"The size of the increase is returning to what we consider more normal levels for most markets in Canada, reflecting a sound but cooling market for existing homes.
"We are past the days of constantly setting MLS records."
Porter said that the double-digit decline in home sales was probably from bad weather and some "very real cooling" in the once sizzling markets.
"The real test will be how sales and prices fare in the crucial spring season," he wrote.
"Sales will likely remain down from year-ago levels, as buyers show increasing caution in the face of the U.S. downturn and reduced affordability.
"Even so, average home prices are still likely to post moderate gains this year."
Housing boom over, Bank of Montreal says
By The Canadian Press - April 17, 2008
OTTAWA — Existing homes sales tumbled 13 per cent for the first three months of the year compared to last year and the resale market has become "more balanced" for the first time in nearly a decade, prompting one analyst to call the end of Canada`s hot housing market.
"Canada`s six-year housing market boom is officially over," Bank of Montreal economist Doug Porter said in response to the January-March survey released Thursday by the Canadian Real Estate Association.
"Aside from a few choice Prairie locales, sales are melting faster than this year`s snow pack," Porter said in a note.
"You know things are calming down quickly when the Canadian Real Estate Association says that the market is `more balanced compared to` any other quarter over the past nine years"
Porter said some of the previous hot markets, such as Calgary and Edmonton, have witnessed "spectacular declines in activity."
In Calgary, residential home sales slid 35.9 per cent or by 6,354 units during the quarter while new listings jumped 29.8 per cent, or by 16,794 units. Edmonton`s residential sales were also down, 29.8 per cent (4,071 units), and new listings were up 52.1 per cent (11,228 units).
CREA said that seasonally adjusted sales activity was down 7.1 per cent to 81,747 units in the quarter, compared to the previous quarter, which was the fourth-highest sales period ever.
The group said much of the slide was tied to lower activity in Toronto during February and March, because the city accounts for about a quarter of the country`s come sales in major markets.
Toronto saw its residential unit sales drop 13.4 per cent (17,721 units), though new listings were also down by seven per cent (36,885 units).
"Many major markets are becoming more balanced and price gains are becoming more modest as a result.
"This trend is forecast to continue, as rising mortgage carrying costs and property taxes erode affordability," CREA chief economist Gregory Klump said.
Other cities that saw large drops in sales in the first quarter include Vancouver, where sales slid 9.6 per cent, Winnipeg was down 7.7 per cent and Halifax fell 14.2 per cent.
Of the areas surveyed, sales were only up in Newfoundland by 14.3 per cent and Thunder Bay, Ont. by 9.5 per cent.
Overall, the average listing price in Canada was up 5.5 per cent to $327,620 in the January-March period, which is the weakest year-over-year quarterly increase since the end of 2001.
While the figure point to a slowdown in the Canadian housing market, CREA said there is no comparison to the housing slump south of the border.
"The residential average price continues to increase, unlike conditions in many U.S. markets," said CREA president Cal Lindberg.
"The size of the increase is returning to what we consider more normal levels for most markets in Canada, reflecting a sound but cooling market for existing homes.
"We are past the days of constantly setting MLS records."
Porter said that the double-digit decline in home sales was probably from bad weather and some "very real cooling" in the once sizzling markets.
"The real test will be how sales and prices fare in the crucial spring season," he wrote.
"Sales will likely remain down from year-ago levels, as buyers show increasing caution in the face of the U.S. downturn and reduced affordability.
"Even so, average home prices are still likely to post moderate gains this year."
