Supply shortages still expected in big centres, but wave of new listings elsewhere will be boon to buyers.
After a historic runup in prices, the Canadian resale housing market is set to cool down as a wave of new listings hits the market, providing badly needed inventory for hungry buyers.
The number of homes on the market nationally increased for the third consecutive month in February on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. The industry group said yesterday there were 4.7 months of inventory available in Canada in February, up from 4.5 months in January.
That trend has put buyers and sellers in an equilibrium not seen since before the market downturn began about two years ago. The ratio of new listings to sales, an indicator used by analysts to gauge the health of the resale housing market, left the "favourable to sellers" range to the "balanced market" range in February, according to National Bank Financial.
It's a sign of stability for a sector that has seen wild price appreciations as buyers competed ferociously for the few homes on the market. [read more-->]
Source - Globe and Mail
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