September
appears to have been another strong month for Canadian home sales. An
article in the Globe and Mail from last week reported that the number of
existing homes that changed hands in Canada during September came in
10.6 per cent higher than a year earlier, topping expectations.
The average sale price rose 5.9 per cent to $408,795.
On
a seasonally adjusted basis sales are 1.4 per cent lower than they were
in August, which is the first monthly decline since January, according
to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), which represents
realtors.
But
sales are still higher than economists predicted. Just before the
numbers were released Bank of Montreal economist Sal Guatieri said that
he was expecting sales to be up 6 per cent year over year. And Beth
Crosbie, the president of CREA, stated in a press release that she
thinks part of the reason for the monthly decline in sales was a
shortage of affordably priced single-family homes.
September’s
reasonably strong showing also comes at a time when many economists
have been waiting for sales to slow. But, fuelled by low mortgage rates,
the housing market has continued to surprise to the upside and policy
makers are keeping an eye on it. Currency strategists at JPMorgan Chase
said in a research note on Tuesday that they expect Canadian growth to
lag that of the U.S. largely because of slowing housing activity here,
but then noted that the slowdown has been elusive. “Recent data has been
surprisingly strong, and inconsistent with the Bank of Canada’s
soft-landing thesis, but we expect it to soften from this autumn,” they
wrote.
Read the full article here >>> http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/existing-home-sales-rise-106-outpace-expectations/article21105802/
Source: Tara Perkins, The Globe and Mail
Randy Miller
Broker
Re/Max Rouge River Realty Ltd., Brokerage
905-668-1800 or 905-427-1400
randy@randymiller.ca
http://whitbybrooklinhomes.com
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