As Real Estate reporter Tara Perkins reports in The Globe and Mail, the Canadian Real Estate Association
bolstered its forecast for home price growth this year, but that doesn’t mean
homeowners across the country should cheer. The red-hot Canadian home prices
“Head anywhere east of Toronto and ask
about the hot housing market, and you might get a funny look,” Bank of Montreal
economist Robert Kavcic writes in a research note.
The big home price gains are largely
confined to Calgary and detached homes in Toronto, he points out. There are
also increases in Vancouver.
“Meantime, prices in Quebec and
Atlantic Canada have been drifting sideways or down for a good 3 years now,
hammering home the point that real estate is still very local,” Mr. Kavcic
writes.
The Canadian Real Estate Association
said Monday that the national average sales price over the Multiple Listing
Service was up 7.1 per cent in May from a year earlier at $416,584. But if you
take out Vancouver and Toronto, the average was up 5.3 per cent at $336,373.
Averages can be skewed by a higher
level of sales in pricier markets. The MLS Home Price Index, which seeks to be
a more apples-to-apples comparison of prices, rose 4.8 per cent.
CREA upped its forecast for home prices
this week, saying it now predicts the national average price will rise 5.7 per
cent this year to $404,300. In March it was forecasting a 3.8 per cent increase
to $397,000.
Leslie Preston, an economist at
Toronto-Dominion Bank, notes that in addition to the geographical disparities,
condo buyers are not faring as well as house buyers are. “Strength in prices
reflects increases for single-family homes and townhouses,” she writes. “Prices
for condos are up a more modest 2.9 per cent over a year ago.”
The regional disparities might explain
why the federal government is reluctant to do any more to cool the housing
market, Mr. Kavcic suggests. “One reason policy makers might be a bit hesitant
to act again soon is that strong price gains are confined to a few select
markets, or even sub-markets, while a wide swath of the country (at least
geographically) is seeing downright dreary conditions.”
If you want to know more about the local market conditions of Whitby and other areas of Durham Region, please feel free to contact me.
Randy Miller
Sales Representative
Sales Representative
Re/Max Rouge River Realty Ltd., Brokerage
905-668-1800 or 905-427-1400
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