 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.
/ H$ T4 X( b+ m/ ^: U( n, K7 S% w2 m' H1 S' y, o
The 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.1 v7 G+ S J+ q
+ g- v' L2 O, r, M/ x5 T/ d5 ^Sales 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, 2002.3 J: I: {/ s7 i5 g) f) T: @9 V
/ U% A/ C* g- e% P4 L8 k; Z+ V"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."
$ P% R* n; v+ g$ X% P* g
8 M/ d( K! v4 X0 I% Y* [CREA 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.* n1 _9 n. h& w) B- l; O G
: m$ v; s. e+ v"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.
7 U7 q/ {! [3 t T4 n4 V+ ^- w6 I
0 x( c# ]2 u, ^/ C$ G% SHe 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.
( W; i" k1 T; Y4 K# f+ E3 T) n3 Q/ q
The market is expected to get some relief from the fact that new listings are expected to decline, Mr. Klump says.
& \/ o/ Q( l ]& n
% N$ ~$ Z6 @8 _6 m! [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.
$ p$ U' F& p) ?2 J& y- q9 ^2 T9 A. @
The 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. |
|