Low interest rates continue to fuel strong buyer demand.
The spring market unofficially ended last month and Canada’s three most followed housing markets, Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto finished off the spring selling season strongly. Sales volumes, prices and new listings each increased.
Vancouver
Sales volumes were up in Vancouver by 29% in June, compared to June 2013. They were also 3.7% higher than in May but only 0.6% above the ten year average for the month. Sales of detached properties were up a whopping 59% from the level seen in June 2012. New listings were up 9.5% compared to a year earlier but were down by more than 10% from May’s level and 2.6% below the ten year average. Total listings stood at 16,011 which is down 7% from June, 2013.
Average prices in Vancouver for detached homes in June were up more than 6% from a year ago but are still under $1 million at $976,700. For apartment condominiums, average prices rose 2.4% year-over-year to $378,000.
Calgary
Calgary was dealing with the aftermath of the damaging flood which took a large bite out of sales activity. This year’s sales volumes in June were 18% above the ten year average for the month. The single-family unadjusted benchmark price was $509,700 in June, representing an 11% increase from the same period last year. For condominiums, the “apartment-style” benchmark price was $299,700 and for “townhouse-style” units, it was $326,000.
Toronto
Paul Etherington, the new president for the Toronto Real Estate Board’s first monthly sales report featured an increase of more than 15% in sales volumes from a year earlier as there were more than 10,000 sales recorded in June. New listings also rose but not by as much which means that competition among buyers increased yet again in June.
The average sale price of a home in Toronto reached $568,953 in June, a 7.4% increase from a year ago. Prices for detached properties in the “416” area – the City of Toronto – reached $921,127 in June.
Article from: http://www.mcap.com
