Canada’s housing market continues to be propelled by
Toronto and Vancouver

Highlights:

  • National home sales edged back by 0.4% from June to July.
  • Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 3.4% above July 2014 levels.
  • The number of newly listed homes edged up 0.2 per cent from June to July.
  • The Canadian housing market remains balanced overall.
  • The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 5.9% year-over-year in July.
  • The national average sale price rose 8.9% on a year-over-year basis in July; excluding Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, it increased by 4.1%.

According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), Canada’s housing market remains balanced; however, the housing markets of Toronto and Vancouver markets continue to outpace the rest of the country.

As Toronto and Vancouver contribute to about 60% of Canada’s housing market activity, it is no surprise to see the difference the combined impact of the two markets on the overall Canadian market. Although the prices continue to rise in these markets, it is not the same story across the country.

“Trends in British Columbia and Ontario have a big influence on the national figures, since they account for about 60 per cent of national housing activity,"
Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist

As a result, the national picture reflects how demand is running high for the short supply of single-family homes in and around the GTA while the balance between supply and demand is tightening in B.C.’s Lower Mainland. These remain the only places in Canada where home prices are growing strongly.

CREA’s year-to-year price growth numbers reflects this disparity in activity in Canada’s housing market. In Vancouver, the price growth was 11.23%, followed by closely by Toronto, which had a price increase of 9.39%. However, the picture was very different in the formerly hot market of Calgary – price growth was low at 0.14 per cent. It is clear the economic slow-down in Calgary fueled by the drop in oil prices has a dramatic effect on the region’s housing market.

Greater Montreal and Ottawa also had a slow summer - Montreal had about a two percent price growth and Ottawa was just under one per cent.

Some markets also experienced a decrease in price – Regina experienced a 3.5% drop in prices and Moncton’s prices fell about 1.5%.

Finally, the national average price for homes sold in July 2015 was $437,699, an increase of 8.9% on a year-to-year basis. However, when the price gains in the hot markets of Toronto and Vancouver are taken out of the equation, the national average price is actually $341,438, an increase of 4.1%. These figures reflect the ongoing trend of two very different markets – one of the two cities with unprecedented growth in both sales volume and prices (Toronto and Vancouver) and the rest of the country that is experiencing low to moderate growth in both sales and volume. There is no indication this trend will be changing anytime in the very near future.

Source: http://www.crea.ca/canadian-home-sales-edge-lower-remain-strong-july

 

Barritt Mortgage Architects

Stephanie Barritt AMP

BARRITT MORTGAGES INC.

P 604.575.2710
C 604.785.4562
F 604.909.2924

Broker


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