Following is the text of the
national resale housing activity from the Canadian Real Estate
Association (CREA).
Canadian home sales edge higher in February
According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real
Estate Association (CREA), national resale housing activity
improved in February 2012 after having declined in January.
Highlights:
• Home sales rose 1.4% from January to February.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was up 8.6% from
February 2011 levels.
• The number of newly listed homes climbed 1.9% from January to
February.
• The national sales-to-new listings ratio was little changed,
remaining firmly in balanced territory.
• The national average home price advanced 2.0% on a year-over-
year basis in February.
Sales activity recorded through the MLS Systems of Canadian real
estate Boards and Associations edged up 1.4 per cent from
January to February 2012, recouping one-third of the monthly
decline in activity between December 2011 and January 2012.
Activity was up on a month-over-month basis in half of all local
markets in February, led by Calgary, Toronto, Barrie, Montreal,
Quebec City, Saint John, and Halifax-Dartmouth.
Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was up 8.6 per cent on
a year-over-year basis in February. A total of 61,772 homes
traded hands in the first two months of 2012, up 6.7 per cent
from the same period in 2011.
The number of newly listed homes also rebounded 1.9 per cent on
a month-over-month basis in February, reaching the highest level
since May 2010. A rebound in new listings in Toronto and
Montreal, Canada’s two most active markets, offset a retreat in
new listings in Vancouver, Canada’s third largest market.
With both sales and new listings having risen, the national
sales-to-new listings ratio, a measure of market balance, was
little changed in February (53.3 per cent) compared to January
(53.6 per cent) and remains firmly in balanced market territory.
“The national rise in both sales activity and the number of
newly listed homes beyond the normal seasonal increase provides
clear evidence that Canadians are confident in housing market
prospects,” said Gary Morse, CREA’s President. “Confidence
varies by region, as do prospects for housing demand. For that
reason, buyers and sellers should talk to their local REALTOR to
understand current and prospective trends in their local housing
market.”
“It is important to remember that MLS home sales and purchases
are an significant source of economic activity and job creation.
Total consumer spin-off spending resulting from MLS® home sales
and purchases will add an estimated $19.4B to the economy, and
create over 159,000 jobs in 2012,” continued Morse.
Based on a sales-to-new listings ratio of between 40 to 60 per
cent, 60 per cent of local markets were balanced in February.
Compared to the previous month, there were more buyers’ markets
and fewer sellers’ markets.
The number of months of inventory stood at 5.9 months at the end
of February on a national basis, unchanged from levels reported
in January. 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 February 2012 was $372,763, up two per cent from
its reading for the same month last year.
“In February 2011, the national average price was stretched
upward by a spike in high-end home sales in some of Vancouver’s
priciest neighbourhoods, and a replay of that was not expected
this year,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist.
“February’s data bear this out, but other factors are now
keeping the national average price aloft. The main one is the
housing market in Toronto, where a tight balance between supply
and demand continues to drive some of the strongest home price
gains in the country, particularly for single detached
properties.”
There has been a preference in recent months, in Toronto and
other markets, for single family homes which are typically more
expensive. This trend held in February, putting additional
upward pressure on the national average home price.
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 neighbourhoods
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:
Kristy Scheuble in Washington at
kmckeaney@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Marco Babic at mbabic@bloomberg.net