The Canadian real estate market is seeing some of the best growth of any country, posting a year-over-year gain in sales. Following an impressive 31.5% growth in sales in the the second quarter of 2009, Canada looks well on their way to being one of the first countries to rebound from last year’s global decline. For more, see the following from HousingWire.
Residential property market sales in Canada are continuing to recover, according to the latest published figures, with June showing the most marked increase with a 17.9% rise.
Overall property sales were up 31.5% in the second quarter of 2009 and up by 1.4% compared with this time last year, the first annual increase since late 2007, the figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association show.
‘The gap’s been closing since the beginning of the year. Given the strong snap back in a number of major markets it was anticipated that June would surpass year ago levels,’ said CREA chief economist Gregory Klump.
It is one of the strongest signs yet that the Canadian real estate market is one of the first established property sectors to show figures exceeding those from a year ago.
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Experts say that the recovery is due to improved affordability, people feeling less threatened on the job security front and unlike in some other countries, Canada’s banks are still in a position to make loans and are showing a willingness to do so.
‘The turnaround in Canadian housing this year might be the single most surprising turnabout we’ve seen in any economic indicator I can think of,’ said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets.
Michael Polzler, the executive vice president of RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada said the recent surge in resale activity meant buyers had been lucky to snap up some of the best real estate deals in years, with conditions now beginning to favor sellers. ‘In the space of just 18 months, the housing market has transitioned from a sellers’ market to a buyers’ market and back again,’ he added.
Even markets that saw a sharp decline in activity last year have rebounded with the most striking increases in Vancouver and Victoria. Also some higher-priced homes have come back on the market, a sure sign that activity is improving.
However, CREA doesn’t expect the level of activity seen in June to continue but they will level off. The sharp increase in sales can be partly attributed to pent-up demand in the market as sales slumped late last year and early this year, explained Klump. As some of that demand is satisfied sales are likely to level off.
‘Month-over-month increases are likely to get softer but sales activity is not going to return to very low levels. By and large, sales activity will remain strong. I just don’t anticipate that these increases are going to play out month over month over the rest of the year the way they have in the last few,’ he said.
This article has been republished from Property Wire. You can also view this article at Property Wire, an international real estate news site.
