Following is the text of the
national resale housing activity from the Canadian Real Estate
Association (CREA).
According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real
Estate Association (CREA), national resale housing activity
edged higher in March 2012.
Highlights:
•Home sales rose 2.5% from February to March.
•Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 1.6% above
levels in March 2011, the smallest year-over-year increase since
last April.
•The number of newly listed homes eased 0.3% from February to
March.
•While still well balanced, the national housing market
tightened due to the rise in activity.
•The national average home price edged down 0.5% on a year-over-
year basis in March.
Sales activity over MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards
and Associations rose 2.5 per cent from February to March 2012.
The increase lifted national activity to its highest monthly
level since April 2010.
Activity in March was up from the previous month in two-thirds
of all local markets, with Toronto, Calgary, and Edmonton
contributing most to the national increase.
Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 1.6 per cent
above levels in March 2011, the smallest year-over-year increase
since last April. It reflects moderate gains in a number of
major centres, including Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, and
Quebec City. Increases in these housing markets offset larger
declines in Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, where activity last
year ran at unusually strong levels.
A total of 108,373 homes traded hands in the first three months
of the year. This is 5.0 per cent above the five-year average
for first quarter sales, 3.8 per cent above the 10-year average,
and 4.4 per cent above activity in the first quarter of 2011.
New listings were little changed following their uptick in
February, having edged lower by 0.3 per cent on a month-over-
month basis in March. The number of newly listed homes declined
from the previous month in just over half of all local Canadian
housing markets, and rose in almost all of the remainder.
“The spring housing market is off to a good start,” said Wayne
Moen, CREA’s President. “The number of sales and newly listed
properties are up from levels last year, and the vast majority
of housing markets remain balanced. That said, all housing is
local, so buyers and sellers should talk to their local REALTOR®
to understand current and prospective trends where they live.”
The national housing market remains well balanced, although the
monthly increase in sales activity caused the balance between
supply and demand to tighten slightly.
The national sales-to-new listings ratio, a measure of market
balance, stood at 55.1 per cent in March. This remains firmly in
balanced market territory, but is up from 53.6 per cent in
February. Based on a ratio of between 40 and 60 per cent, more
than half of local markets were balanced in March.
The number of months of inventory stood at 5.7 at the end of
March on a national basis, down slightly from 5.8 months in
February. 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 March 2012 was $369,677, representing a decline of
one half of a percentage point from the same month last year.
“Average prices are up from year-ago levels in most large urban
centres,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “The
slight decline in the national average price points to a tug of
war between Toronto and Vancouver from the standpoint of their
sales mix compared to last year.”
“The national average price was skewed higher last spring by
record level high-end home sales in some of Vancouver’s priciest
neighbourhoods. It was expected that this would not recur this
spring, which the latest sales figures confirm. The decline in
average price reflects the change in Vancouver’s sales mix, not
housing price deflation.”
“At the same time, overall home sales activity in Toronto is
stronger than it was last spring, and higher-end home sales are
up from year-ago levels. Being by far the most active housing
market in Canada, Toronto represents the single biggest factor
supporting national average price compared to last year.”
1 All figures in this release except average price are
seasonally adjusted. Removing normal seasonal variations enables
meaningful analysis of monthly changes and fundamental trends.
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:
Ilan Kolet in Ottawa at ikolet@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Marco Babic at mbabic@bloomberg.net
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