The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has released its national housing statistics indicating a decline in activity from July to August 2012. Follow the link to see CREA’s full press release.
Ontario housing market has also softened noticeably on a year-over-year basis. This August, Ontario residential unit sales declined by 11.1 per cent to 15,816 from 17,794 in August 2011. The average home price has continued to grow from $347,695 last August to $366,797 this year – an increase of 4.8 per cent. New listings have declined over the year from 33,346 in 2011 to 31,042 this August.
Some of the national housing highlights include:
• Home sales down 5.8 per cent from July to August.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 8.9 per cent below levels in August 2011.
• Number of newly listed homes down 1.7per cent from July to August.
• Housing market remains firmly in balanced territory at the national level.
• National average home price up 0.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis in August.
• The Composite Aggregate Benchmark home price was up 4 per cent in August, its smallest gain in over a year.
“August’s sales figures will no doubt provide comfort to policymakers, providing the first clear indication that the recent changes to mortgage regulations aimed at cooling the market are working as intended,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist.
Wayne Moen, CREA’s President, reminded that: “All real estate is local, so housing market prospects can and do differ among regions and communities. For that reason, buyers and sellers should talk to their REALTOR® about the housing market outlook where they live.”
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