According to statistics 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.
“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.
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 neighborhoods 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.
Further information can be found at
http://www.crea.ca/public/news_stats/media.htm.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Ilan Kolet in Ottawa ikolet@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Marco Babic at mbabic@bloomberg.net
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