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 up by less than one per cent in April 2012.
Highlights:
•Home sales up 0.8% from March to April.
•Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 11.5% above
levels in April 2011.
•The size of the year-over-year increase reflects a slowdown in
sales last April following changes to mortgage rules which came
into effect on March 18, 2011.
•The number of newly listed homes edged back 0.2% from March to
April.
•While still well balanced, the combination of stable new
listings and slightly higher sales activity resulted in a
tighter national housing market.
•The national average home price edged up 0.9% on a year-over-
year basis in April.
Sales over MLS® Systems of real estate Boards and Associations
in Canada edged up 0.8 per cent from March to April 2012,
putting them on par with levels reported in the same month two
years earlier.
Activity was either up or held steady in half of all local
markets in April, with Toronto and Calgary posting the biggest
monthly increases for the second month in a row. Activity gains
in Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton, as well as London and St.
Thomas also made significant contributions to the national sales
increase in April. Increased activity in these markets offset
monthly declines in Ottawa, Windsor-Essex, Quebec City, the
Fraser Valley, and Vancouver.
“A number of Canadian housing market trends in April remained
intact from the previous month,” said Wayne Moen, CREA
President. “Trends in Vancouver and Toronto continue to diverge.
These two housing markets have an obvious influence on national
statistics and a high profile, but Canada is a big place. Trends
in housing markets differ across Canada, and as all housing is
local, buyers and sellers should speak to their local REALTOR®
to better understand current and prospective trends where they
live.”
Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 11.5 per cent
above levels in April 2011, reflecting the slowdown in sales
following changes to mortgage regulations that came into effect
in March of last year.
A total of 157,804 homes have traded hands so far this year, up
6.4 per cent from levels reported in the first four months of
2011 and about four per cent above both the five- and 10-year
averages for sales during the first third of the year.
The number of newly listed homes was little changed in April
compared to March, having edged back 0.2 per cent on a month-
over-month basis. The number of markets in which new listings
rose (45) ran almost even with those where new listings eased
(54).
The national housing market tightened marginally in April due to
higher sales and stable new listings, but remains firmly
entrenched in balanced market territory. The national sales-to-
new listings ratio, a measure of market balance, stood at 55.9
per cent in April, up slightly from its March reading of 55.4
per cent. Based on a sales-to-new listings ratio of between 40
to 60 per cent, the number of local markets that were in
balanced market territory in April (59) was up slightly from
March (56).
Nationally, the number of months of inventory stood at 5.6
months at the end of April, unchanged from levels reported in
March. 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 a further measure of the
balance between housing supply and demand.
The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for
homes sold in April 2012 was $375,810, up 0.9 per cent from the
same month last year. While more or less flat compared to last
spring on a national basis, average sale prices were up on a
year-over-year basis in 80 per cent of all local markets in
April.
“It bears repeating that the national average price was skewed
higher last spring by record level high-end home sales in
Vancouver’s priciest neighbourhoods, and that a replay of this
phenomenon was not expected this year,” said Gregory Klump,
CREA’s Chief Economist. “Sales data confirm that high-end
activity in Vancouver is well off the peak levels reached at
this time last year, which is exerting a gravitational pull on
the national average price.”
“By contrast, activity in Toronto is stronger this spring than
it was last spring. Higher-priced sales activity there is on the
rise and buoying average prices. As the most active housing
market in Canada, Toronto is the biggest factor supporting
national average price.”
“Netting Vancouver out of the national average price calculation
yields a 4.9 per cent year-on-year gain. Netting Toronto out of
the national average price calculation, while leaving Vancouver
in, produces a 2.2 per cent year-on-year decline. Netting out
both Vancouver and Toronto results in a 3.1 per cent increase in
average price. On balance, this points to modest price growth
amid balanced market conditions in much of the rest of Canada.”
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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