From the Globe and mail today:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...hows-further-signs-of-cooling/article2339028/
Housing market shows further signs of cooling
steve ladurantaye
Globe and Mail Update
Published Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012 9:36AM EST
Last updated Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012 12:09PM EST
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The Canadian Real Estate Association says the country’s real estate market is “stabilizing,” as it reported the sharpest slowdown in demand in almost two years.
Home sales across the country were down 4.5 per cent in January compared to December, the sharpest monthly decline since July 2010. Average prices were 2 per cent higher than a year ago at $348,178, the smallest year-over-year increase in the last year.
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Market watchers have wondered if Canada’s real estate sector is due for a correction, with prices up considerably since the recession and Canadians taking advantage of low interest rates to buy increasingly expensive homes.
While Canada Housing and Mortgage Corp. said Monday the next two years should see stability in prices and the number of sales, some bank economists expect price drops of up to 10 per cent in some markets such as Toronto and Vancouver.
Activity did slow in many of Canada’s major centres to start the year, CREA said.
“Activity was down in over half of all local markets in January from the previous month,” it stated in a release. “Led by declines in Greater Toronto and Montreal, demand also softened in a number of other major urban centres including the Fraser Valley, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Greater Vancouver.”
But it’s not willing to get in on the bubble debate.
“The national housing market is stabilizing and remains well balanced,” said CREA president Gary Morse. “That said, forecasts for economic and job growth going forward vary widely for different parts of the country, suggesting a possible continuation of a softening trend in some markets, as well as the potential that demand will pick up based on strong fundamentals in others..”
The association – which represents the country’s real estate agents – also said that market watchers shouldn’t pay too much attention to average monthly prices in the coming months because last year’s figures were skewed by a number of high-price sales in Vancouver.
“Year-over-year comparisons in the national average price are expected to become volatile and may turn negative, reflecting average price developments in the first half of 2011 in Vancouver,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist. “At that time, high-end home sales in Vancouver’s priciest neighbourhoods surged to all-time record levels, which skewed the national average price upward considerably. A replay of this phenomenon is not expected this year. As a result, comparisons for national average price to year-ago levels over the coming months will reflect an upwardly skewed base effect. For this reason, year-over-year comparisons should be kept in perspective.”
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