 鲜花( 7)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
A slowdown in some of the country's most expensive cities for housing continues to drag down the average sale price of a home in Canada, the Canadian Real Estate Association said.
* K& r7 c# V2 }0 P
' O; q: J) c, U" W( DThe average sale price of a home last month was $281,133, a 9.9% decline from a year ago. It's the fifth straight month that prices have fallen in the country's major markets on a year over year basis, and each month the percentage decline has increased.: b) `, _! L3 I4 D# {2 @
1 m- k7 r2 s) }6 c% \6 ~6 pSales also continue to decline across the country. In major markets, sales in October were down 15.1% from September. The 32,046 sales in October for the entire country were the lowest monthly level since July, 2002.
, f" X7 |3 P( ]: Y4 S9 [2 t! h3 q; q- i5 H a/ G- H2 E. q: \: d
"The breadth and depth of the drop in MLS activity suggests a major downshift in consumers psychology," said Gregory Klump, chief economist CREA. "That has moved many homebuyers to the sidelines until economic news begins to improve."
1 z. I0 }. d0 W, e2 g* o* ^: H: o* D
3 v& }7 x, K$ E* `8 R9 q2 C9 W X, tCREA said activity was down in 75% of the Canadian markets it surveys, including the five most active, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. Toronto accounted for one third of the decline in the national sales figure.
0 ]! e$ X( [1 D( F1 K0 E; d; K4 T' \0 X
"Many homebuyers across Canada battened down the hatches in October as they were concerned with dire headlines about stock market volatility and a global economic downturn," said Mr. Klump.
! E- v8 ^; `' M$ H' r) i2 F6 K7 p0 P W) ]% ~8 D! N7 `
He said the government's tougher restrictions on home buying played into the decline. New rules that came into effect last month have forced consumers to have at least 5% down on any home purchase. Mortgages can also be amortized over 35 years, down from 40 years, making for a larger monthly payment.3 {3 O0 T( b. a) {" j0 s1 E) H
. D3 q% ^3 E& m7 D: o) ?4 ZThe market is expected to get some relief from the fact that new listings are expected to decline, Mr. Klump says.
+ p- v: v. g/ B0 t/ X- d
" C3 I+ t( E# I- }CREA president Calvin Lindberg said consumer confidence has not been this low since the mid-1990s. "The major drop in consumer and a steady stream of economic bad news from the financial markets is taking its toll on the national housing market," he said.
" b/ u9 v" R( `/ {0 Z
0 P" F. r9 e( V' G" x5 ^. D7 PThe association pointed out a decline in housing is bad news for the overall economy, saying spin off spending from MLS transaction is about $15.3-billion per year when you include moving and renovation costs and the purchase of new furniture and appliances. |
|