MLS® sales in the Montréal Metropolitan Area are picking up, with only a 6 per cent decrease in the number of transactions in April 2009 compared to April 2008, the month that broke all records, reported the Greater Montréal Real Estate Board. The median price of condominiums increased by 5 per cent, while single family-homes remained stable.
“It is a good time to buy a property today,” said Michel Beauséjour, FCA, Chief Executive Officer of the GMREB. “Mortgage rates are at their lowest level in more than half a century and the inventory of properties is growing, giving buyers more choice. Buyers are taking a bit more time to buy, as shown by the average sale time. While single-family homes stayed on the market for an average of 67 days in April 2008, in April 2009, the average was 80 days,” he added. Read More
Canada’s housing market is showing signs of emerging from its winter hibernation, according to the latest Real Estate Trends report released today by Scotia Economics. Nationally, home sales strengthened in both February and March, and preliminary reports suggest this firming trend continued in April.
The Real Estate Trends report notes that the rise in demand, combined with fewer new listings, has restored a better balance to the market. The national new-listings-to-sales ratio averaged 2.2 in March, down from a cycle peak of 2.7 last November (about 2.0 is considered balanced). Average home prices steadied in February and March, though were still down almost eight per cent year-over-year, or five per cent on a regional sales-weighted basis.
“These ‘green shoots’ are encouraging,” said Adrienne Warren, Senior Economist and Real Estate Market Specialist, Scotia Economics. “On an annualized basis, average home prices in early 2009 are running about six per cent below last year’s levels, while sales volumes are down 16 per cent. This is tracking a slightly better performance than our forecast for a 10 per cent decline in average prices this year, and at the low end of our forecast for a 15 per cent to 20 per cent drop in sales.
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