The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada's largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 100,000 real estate Brokers / agents and salespeople working through more than 100 real estate Boards and Associations. CREA delivers critical IT Services to its members through online properties such as www.REALTOR.ca and www.REALTORlink.ca.
Ottawa, ON, January 15, 2015- According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales activity was down on a month-over-month basis in December 2014.
Highlights:
The number of home sales processed through the MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations fell 5.8 per cent in December 2014 compared to November and remained above year-ago levels.
December sales were down from the previous month in almost two-thirds of all local housing markets, led by declines of about 25 per cent in both Calgary and Edmonton. Activity also slipped by about five per cent in the Greater Toronto Area.
“Home sales activity remained above year-ago levels in most local housing markets,” said CREA President Beth Crosbie. “Sales were also stronger in December than they were the previous month in about one-third of all local markets in Canada. This underscores the fact that all real estate is local. Nobody knows this better than your local REALTOR®, who remains your best source for information about how the housing market is shaping up where you currently live or might like to in the future.”
“December sales were down from the previous month in a number of Canada’s largest and most active housing markets, indicating a broadly based cooling off for Canadian home sales as 2014 came to an end,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “Even so, sales remain above year-ago levels in many of the same markets.”
“Given the uncertain outlook for oil prices, it’s no surprise consumer confidence in Alberta softened and moved some home buyers to the sidelines,” said Klump. “With regards to slower activity in Calgary and Edmonton, sales in these two markets had been running strong all year before they returned to levels that are entirely average for the month of December.”
Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity in December stood 7.9 per cent above levels reported in the same month in 2013. Sales for the month were up from year-ago levels in about two-thirds of all local markets, led by Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, the Greater Toronto Area, and Montreal.
Some 481,162 homes traded hands via the MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations on an actual (not seasonally adjusted) basis in 2014 — the highest annual level in seven years. Annual sales activity in 2014 was up 5.1 per cent from the previous year and stood 2.6 per cent above the 10-year annual average.
The number of newly listed homes rose 1.1 per cent in December compared to November. Led by Calgary, Regina and Ottawa, new supply was up in just over half of all local markets.
The national sales-to-new listings ratio was 51.8 per cent in December, down from the mid-55 per cent range in the previous four months.
A sales-to-new listings ratio between 40 and 60 per cent is generally consistent with balanced housing market conditions, with readings above and below this range indicating sellers’ and buyers’ markets respectively.
The ratio was within this range in just over two-thirds of all local markets in November. More than half of the British Columbia, Alberta and Southern Ontario markets that had been in seller’s market territory in November returned to balanced market territory in December. This list included Greater Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and the Greater Toronto Area.
The number of months of inventory is another important measure of the balance between housing supply and demand. It represents the number of months it would take to completely liquidate current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.
There were 6.2 months of inventory nationally at the end of December 2014, up from 5.8 months in November. Together with the softer reading for the sales-to-new listings ratio, this suggests that the Canadian housing market has become more balanced.
The Aggregate Composite MLS® HPI rose by 5.38 per cent on a year-over-year basis in December. Monthly price gains held steady between five and five-and-a-half per cent throughout 2014.
In December, year-over-year price growth decelerated compared to November for townhouse/row units but accelerated for other types of homes tracked by the index. Two-storey single family homes continue to post the biggest year-over-year price gains (+6.98 per cent), followed closely by townhouse/row units (+5.31 per cent) and one-storey single family homes (+4.51 per cent). Price growth remained comparatively more modest for apartment units (+3.51 per cent).
Price gains varied among housing markets tracked by the index. As in recent months,
Calgary (+8.80 per cent), Greater Toronto (+7.89 per cent), and Greater Vancouver (+5.82 per cent) continued to post the biggest year-over-year increases. By contrast, prices in Regina declined by 3.48 per cent.
In other markets from West to East, prices were up between 2.2 and 2.6 per cent on a year-over-year basis in the Fraser Valley, Victoria, and Vancouver Island, and by less than one per cent in Saskatoon, Ottawa, Greater Montreal, and Greater Moncton.
The MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) provides a better gauge of price trends than is possible using averages because it is not affected by changes in the mix of sales activity the way that average price is.
The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold in December 2014 was $405,233, representing an increase of 3.8 per cent year-over-year and its smallest increase since May 2013.
The national average home price remains skewed by sales activity in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, which are among Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets. Excluding these two markets from the calculation, the average price is a relatively more modest $319,481 and the year-over-year increase shrinks to 1.9 per cent.
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PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national sales information from MLS® Systems 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® Systems are co-operative marketing systems 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 109,000 REALTORS® working through some 90 real estate Boards and Associations.
Further information can be found at http://crea.ca/statistics.
Ottawa, ON, October 15, 2014 – According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales activity in September 2014 was down from the previous month.
Highlights:
The number of home sales processed through the MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate
Boards and Associations fell by 1.4 per cent on a month-over-month basis in September 2014, marking the first monthly decline since January of this year.
Activity was down in about 60 per cent of all local housing markets in September, led by monthly declines in Calgary, Edmonton, Central Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, London & St. Thomas, Windsor-Essex, and Ottawa. Home sales rose on a month-over-month basis in Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island, the Okanagan region, Mississauga, Durham and York regions of the Greater Toronto Area, Sherbrooke, and the Northern region of Nova Scotia.
“Affordably priced single family homes are in short supply in some of Canada’s hottest housing markets, which contributed to the monthly decline in national sales activity in September,” said CREA President Beth Crosbie. “That said, there are other markets with ample supply but sellers there are holding firm on price. There is a lot of variation in housing market trends depending on the type of housing, neighbourhood and price segment. All real estate is local and your REALTOR® is your best source for information about how the housing market is shaping up where you currently live or might like to in the future.”
Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity in September stood 10.6 per cent above levels reported in the same month last year. September sales were up from year-ago levels in about 80 per cent of all local markets, led by Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, the Okanagan region, Calgary, Greater Toronto and Montreal. The increase reflects activity in September 2013 that was handicapped by the occurrence of five Sundays, since that day is the lowest volume trading day for home sales.
Sales activity for the year-to-date in September was five per cent above where it stood in the first nine months of 2013, and remains broadly in line (+1.6 per cent) with the 10-year average for the period.
The number of newly listed homes declined by 1.6 per cent in September compared to August. New supply was down in just over half of all local markets, led by Calgary, Edmonton, Greater Toronto, Kingston and Ottawa.
The national sales-to-new listings ratio was 55.7 per cent in September. With sales and new listings having fallen in tandem, it was little changed from its reading of 55.6 per cent the previous month. A sales-to-new listings ratio between 40 and 60 per cent is usually described as a balanced market.
Just over half of all local markets posted a sales-to-new listings ratio in this range in September. Two-thirds of the remainder posted readings above the 60 per cent threshold that marks the border between balanced and seller’s market territory, almost all of which are located in British Columbia, Alberta and Southern Ontario.
The number of months of inventory is another important measure of the balance between housing supply and demand. It represents the number of months it would take to completely liquidate current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.
There were 5.9 months of inventory nationally at the end of September 2014, up slightly from 5.8 months in August and slightly below the 6.0 months reported in May, June and July.
Both the sales-to-new listings ratio and the number of months of inventory remain well within balanced market territory while pointing to a national market that has tightened since the beginning of the year.
The MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) provides a better gauge of price trends than is possible using averages because it is not affected by changes in the mix of sales activity the way that average price is. Greater Moncton joins the MLS® HPI this month, bringing the total number of markets covered by the index to 11, representing more than half of sales activity across Canada.
The Aggregate Composite MLS® HPI rose by 5.28 per cent on a year-over-year basis in September. Price growth has been steady at about five to five-and-a-half per cent since the beginning of the year.
Year-over-year price growth accelerated slightly for two-storey single family homes and slowed further for apartment units. Price gains for one-storey single family homes and townhouse/row units were little changed compared to August.
Two-storey single family homes continue to post the biggest year-over-year price gains (+6.52 per cent), followed closely by townhouse/row units (+5.51 per cent) and one-storey single family homes (+5.07 per cent). Price growth for apartment units remains comparatively more modest (+3.05 per cent).
Price growth varied among housing markets tracked by the index. As in recent months, the biggest gains were posted by Calgary (+10.11 per cent), Greater Toronto (+7.82 per cent), and Greater Vancouver (+5.26 per cent). Price gains were fairly flat elsewhere, with only Vancouver Island having posted year-over-year gains greater than consumer price inflation.
The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold in September 2014 was $408,795, up 5.9 per cent from the same month last year.
The national average price continues to be skewed upward by sales activity in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, which are among Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets. Excluding these two markets from the calculation, the average price is a relatively more modest $325,406 and the year-over-year increase shrinks to 4.5 per cent.
“Sales activity and prices in the third quarter were up compared to the second quarter, although momentum going into the fourth quarter is showing tentative signs of waning,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “The continuation of extraordinarily low mortgage rates has been and will continue to be the key support for home sales activity amid continuing price increases in some of Canada’s most active and expensive urban centres.”
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PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national sales information from MLS® Systems 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® Systems are co-operative marketing systems 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 111,000 REALTORS® working through some 90 real estate Boards and Associations.
Further information can be found at http://crea.ca/statistics.
Mon, 06/16/2014 – 08:59 Ottawa, ON, June 16, 2014 – The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has updated its forecast for home sales activity via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations for 2014 and 2015. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has updated its forecast for home sales… Read more »
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