Canadian real estate to remain 'unusually strong,' says Royal LePage BY JULIE FORTIER, FINANCIAL POST -JANUARY 7, 2010 OTTAWA — Canada has moved back into a seller’s market and will remain “unusually strong” throughthe first half of 2010 as economic conditions improve and low interest rates spur demand, according to Royal LePage’s Market Survey Forecast and House Price Survey released Thursday. “The Canadian real estate mrket enters 2010 with considerable momentum from an unusually strong finish to the previous year,” Phil Soper, resident and chief executive of Royal LePage Real Estate Services, wrote in a statement. “The stimulus effect of low borrowing costs has contributed to a sharp rise in demand that has driven activity levels to new highs. This demand, coupled with a typical seasonal undersupply of homes for sale, should cause home prices to continue to appreciate significantly during the early months of the year.” The report comes hard on the heels of several others that show the market continuing to gather steam. In early December, the Canadian Real Estate Association said sales of existing homes surged 73 per cent year over year in November, and that the average sale price has soared 19 per cent. On Wednesday, reports showed Toronto home sales shot up 115 per cent in December and that prices had gained 14 per cent year over year. More of the same is ahead, other reports have stated. But Soper said the market’s apparent froth should ease in the second half of 2010 as supply of listed homes increases and higher interest rates temper rising home prices. After falling in late 2008 and early 2009, house prices in Canada appreciated in late 2009.In the last quarter of 2009, the average price of detached bungalows rose six per cent to $315,055 compared with the same quarter in 2008. The price of standard two-storey homes rose 5.2 per cent to $353,026, and the price of a standard condominium rose 6.4 per cent to $205,756. The survey, which includes information on seven types of housing in more than 250 Canadian neighbourhoods, also suggested regions that saw the biggest declines during the recession are now showing marked gains, including Toronto and Vancouver. A report released Wednesday by the Toronto Real Estate Board showed existing home sales there rose 115 per cent in December compared to the same month a year earlier. “Granted, last December was the absolute low for sales activity in the city this cycle,” wrote Robert Kavcic in a noteabout the board’s report. "There is) too much cheap money chasing too few goods.” © Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald Real estate staging unhurried comeback
2009: A Year Of Housing Recovery; Buyers take comfort in stability
BY DAN HEALING, CALGARY HERALD JANUARY 6, 2010 The Ross family's quest to get more house for their buck ran ground in 2008 as the depressedCalgary-area resale market produced the lowest number of house sales in 13 years. But their next dive into the market this past summer resulted in a success story beyond what Dwight,Tanya and their two sons had anticipated. "We moved from really expensive dirt to less expensivedirt and in the process we ended up with a lot more space, a newer home, and got a few otherbonuses, including a view and separate bedrooms for the kids and a bigger garage," saidDwight, 46, an information officer for a Calgary engineering company."It was actually a financialdownsize but a house upsize, and quite substantial, too," he added. "We went from about 2,700 square feet to over 4,000 square feet." The downside is that their new home in Tuscanyon the west end of Calgary requires a longer commute to work downtown -- Tanya is inhuman resources for an oil and gas company -- than from the more centrally located house in Collingwood they had owned for five years. Year-end statistics published by the Calgary Real Estate Board on Tuesday show that 2009 was a recovery year after a dismal2008, but still fell well short of the records set in 2007. Board president Bonnie Wegerich said she doesn't expect to see a repeat of the climate of 2007 when the average single-family home price peaked at $505,920 in July and condo prices hit a record $332,237 in May, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
"I don't think we're going to see as hectic a market for a couple of years," she said. "I think what we'll see is a nice sustained recovery. Those days were really hectic and reallyinsane." "I think it's nicer for the buyers, too," Wegerich said, "if prices are stable and they knowthat what they're buying today is going to still be worth that in a year or maybe up a few per cent." In 2008, single-family home sales were the lowest since 1996, at 13,455, down 27 per centfrom 2007, while the average sale price fell 2.5 per cent to $460,327 and the median pricedropped by 2.9 per cent to $409,000. Statistics from 2009 show 14,440 single-family homesales in the city, up seven per cent from 2008, and an average sale price of $442,237,a four per cent decline. The condominium market, which plunged by 31.3 per cent to 5,661 sales in 2008 compared with 2007, grew by 12 per cent to 6,328 in 2009. The average condo sale price dropped six per cent to $283,734 from $302,408 in 2008 (which was down 4.4 per cent from 2007)and the median price, at $260,000, was off by seven per cent from 2008. December illustrates the recovery part of the story, with 799 single-family homes soldin the city, a whopping 78 per cent increase over December 2008, when just 449 tradedhands (a 47 per cent slide from 2007). The average monthly price jumped to $451,349,up eight per cent from $417,398 in December 2008 (which was down 6.2 per cent from 2007)while the median price was $401,000, up five per cent from December 2008. The number of condominium sales for December 2009 was 341, well ahead of the 205 in December 2008, while the average price of $288,640 showed a five per cent increase. Inventory in December was down. New single-family listings in the city in Decembertotalled 806, down four per cent from December 2008. New condo listings in the cityin December were 444, up three per cent from December 2008. Wegerich said interest rates are expected to rise this year and that prospect may encouragemore buyers to get into the market.Todd Hirsch, a senior economist with ATB Financial,said housing activity should be stable this year. "I would expect that the year will be pretty flat,not a lot of excitement up or down," he said. "We're still going to see good movement becausemortgage rates are still favourable and I think people have a sense we want to get in on it nowbecause rates will be going up." Dwight Ross said he and his wife had been watching the marketclosely before deciding to move this year. The Collingwood home, attracted two competing bids and sold for a price that was higher than listed. The house in Tuscany they had beenkeeping an eye on was still available and they made the successful transition in November,cutting their debt load by more than $100,000. Wegerich said a buyers' market a year ago has transformed into a balanced market. |