November Home Sales Up Slightly Throughout Canada

Feb 17
07:33

2012

Aliva Kar

Aliva Kar

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Real estate sales throughout Canada crept up by 0.5 percent in November, according to Canada's MLS Systems of Real Estate Boards and Associations. This activity represents the third consecutive month that sales through the country increased versus a month ago.

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Higher sales volume in the Halifax-Dartmouth area compensated for a Toronto sales decline. According to CREA president Gary Morse,November Home Sales Up Slightly Throughout Canada Articles Canada's economic vitality is responsible for the country's overall stability in home sales. He acknowledged that some markets are accelerating while others are holding their own.

Although not on a seasonally adjusted basis, housing sales in almost all months of 2011 were in keeping with a ten-year average. In November, sales actually grew seven percent higher than that average, achieving the fourth-highest spot on the records for that particular month.

CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump advised that as each year ends, there is a tendency to review how sales figures and average prices compare to figures from the previous year. Klump said that sales increased on a national basis in 2010, and that this November's activity indicates that similar results may be in store for 2011. He noted that the average sales price on a national basis grew toward the last days of 2010, but this year, that price has remained stable. The average national sales price exhibited more growth during the spring months, instead.

As of November, 432,048 homes have sold by way of Canada's MLS system. This number increased by 2.1 percent versus a year ago. Currently, sales are very much in keeping, at 0.7 percent, with the ten-year average during the years between 2001 and 2010.

In comparison with October, there was a 3.4-percent shortfall in the quantity of new listings in November. The Toronto, Calgary and Hamilton-Burlington markets were responsible for most of that modest decline.

Although conditions are for the most part balanced, the market is creeping toward the seller's side. As of November, the ratio of sales to new listings throughout Canada was at 55.5 percent. This ratio grew 2.1 percentage points from the 53.4-percent ratio measured for October. November represents the third month that there has been growth in the nation's ratio, which is at its highest level since the spring months of this year.

Not adjusted for seasonality, the average sales price for a home that sold in November was $360,396, indicating a 4.6-percent hike versus year-ago. This increase is the smallest recorded since January of this year.