Regina sees big jump in home sales
Posted: November 15, 2011
Regina is the growth leader in home sales in Canada, up 24.8 per cent in October over the same period last year — the highest year-over-year percentage increase of any city in the country — according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.
Housing prices have also risen in the Queen City from $257,032 in October 2010 to $282,313 last month, CREA said Tuesday.
The report also showed national resale activity rose 1.2 per cent in October, building on September’s gain of 2.5 per cent to hit the market’s best level of activity since January. As well, the average price of a resale home in October was $362,899, a 5.5-per-cent increase from October 2010, which CREA notes is the smallest year-over-year gain since January.
An increase in sales in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver led the gains, CREA said, though just over half of all markets showed increases.
“There was no shortage of headline news in October about global financial market volatility and economic uncertainty, but it doesn’t appear to have dampened homebuyers’ spirits,” said Gary Morse, CREA’s president. “Interest rates are at low levels and are likely to stay that way for some time to come.”
“The prevailing economic outlook for Canada is one of slower but still positive economic growth, with heightened caution about investment and hiring decisions,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist. “Consumer confidence and the housing sector are being supported by low interest rates and high employment levels, but their prospects depend on how Canada’s economic outlook evolves in response to global economic risks and outcomes in the months ahead.”
Despite the gains, CREA said national home sales in October were in line with the 10-year average for the month, and the number of newly listed homes remained about the same as in the previous three months.
There have been a total of 397,561 homes sold through the Canadian MLS system so far this year, CREA said, an increase of 1.8 per cent from the number sold in the first 10 months of 2010 but also “directly in line with the 10-year average for the year-to-date figure.”
The Canadian housing market remains balanced, the agency said, with a sales-to-new-listings ration of 53.4 per cent in October, up from 52.8 per cent in September. CREA says about 60 per cent of local markets were balanced in October, with sellers’ markets slightly outnumbering buyers’ markets in the rest of the country.
© Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post
|
