Residential real estate sales in Canada rebounded in a significant way in 2009 after the downturn of 2008. In fact, according to the Canadian Real Estate Board, sales activity in December 2009 (in terms of units sold) was a whopping 72% above the same month in 2008.
Most of the 2009 gains came in the fourth quarter when 137,957 homes traded hands, making it the strongest Q4 ever. That record was previously set in the 1st quarter of 2007 – back in the boom days. The 2009 numbers were 2.6% better.
That’s pretty amazing when you consider the problems south of the border. Home prices in the US declined by an average of 5% from December 2008 and were down .5% from the previous quarter. That marks the 12th straight quarter in which average prices have declined.
Home prices in Canada rose by 5% year over year – to an average $320,333 across the country. This increase is largely due to the falling prices in late 2008. Much of that price increase came last spring (2009) and levelled off later in the year.
These improving selling conditions are bringing new listings to the market once again. Still, as of December 2009 the total number of homes available on the MLS system was down 22% from the previous year.
The Canadian Real Estate Association expects price increases to cool during the second half of 2010. More sellers will enter the market looking to take advantage of improved selling conditions. That will increase buyer opportunities and stabilize prices.
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Hi,
As a realtor, for me was interesting these facts, which many of us didn’t await, and so that the actual progressive trend in new listings has not yet offset the steep decline in the number of new listings during the first half of 2009. Therefore, new listings in 2009 were down 12.6 per cent from the annual peak in 2008.
So it will be interesting to watch next progression.
Take care,
Julie
Thanks for the wonderful article it has really helped me. Well put smiller. Real Estate Investment Software Wed Feb 24 20:03:33 EST 2010