M
Mike in TO
Guest
Record January for home sales
February 06, 2007
TONY WONG
BUSINESS REPORTER
Good weather at the beginning of the year helped make last month the best January ever for Toronto’s housing market.
According to figures released today by the Toronto Real Estate Board, 5,173 existing homes were sold last month, up 13 per cent from January, 2006.
That figure is also six per cent higher than the 4,869 sales recorded in January 2002 – the previous record.
“January’s record-breaking performance is an encouraging sign for the year ahead,†said TREB president Dorothy Mason in a statement.
Existing homes sales weren’t the only record broken.
In figures released today, Statistics Canada says building permits for 2006 hit a record high.
Municipalities issued $66.2 billion worth of permits, up 9 per cent from the previous record of $60.8 billion issued in 2005.
The increase was mostly due to robust growth in Alberta and British Columbia. If those two provinces were excluded, the increase would be only one per cent, said the government agency.
In Toronto, building permits were actually down by 3.7 per cent from last year, due to a drop in multiple permits by builders.
Builders applied for $2.9 billion worth of condos and apartments in 2006 in comparison to a record $3.8 billion in 2005, representing a 23-per-cent fall.
Building permits are considered a forward-looking indicator of where the economy is headed. Once a permit is applied, it can take years in the case of condominiums to be built. Condo construction has surged in the past few years but builders may be taking heed of some analysts who say too many are being built.
February 06, 2007
TONY WONG
BUSINESS REPORTER
Good weather at the beginning of the year helped make last month the best January ever for Toronto’s housing market.
According to figures released today by the Toronto Real Estate Board, 5,173 existing homes were sold last month, up 13 per cent from January, 2006.
That figure is also six per cent higher than the 4,869 sales recorded in January 2002 – the previous record.
“January’s record-breaking performance is an encouraging sign for the year ahead,†said TREB president Dorothy Mason in a statement.
Existing homes sales weren’t the only record broken.
In figures released today, Statistics Canada says building permits for 2006 hit a record high.
Municipalities issued $66.2 billion worth of permits, up 9 per cent from the previous record of $60.8 billion issued in 2005.
The increase was mostly due to robust growth in Alberta and British Columbia. If those two provinces were excluded, the increase would be only one per cent, said the government agency.
In Toronto, building permits were actually down by 3.7 per cent from last year, due to a drop in multiple permits by builders.
Builders applied for $2.9 billion worth of condos and apartments in 2006 in comparison to a record $3.8 billion in 2005, representing a 23-per-cent fall.
Building permits are considered a forward-looking indicator of where the economy is headed. Once a permit is applied, it can take years in the case of condominiums to be built. Condo construction has surged in the past few years but builders may be taking heed of some analysts who say too many are being built.