Home sales rose across Canada last month – except in Vancouver and Toronto – signalling that the country’s housing market remains resilient, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Friday.
Nationally, house sales rose 2.6 per cent in June from a month earlier, while the average resale price decreased slightly, by 0.9 per cent
“Stricter mortgage rules and declining affordability appear to be taking at least some momentum out of prices, a trend that could continue if the Bank of Canada resumes its tightening campaign in the fall,” BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. economist Robert Kavcic said in a research note.
The national average sale price in June was $372,700, an increase of 8.7 per cent from a year earlier. While the figure continues to reflect sales in expensive Vancouver neighbourhoods, activity in those areas has been waning from levels reported in February and March, the association (CREA) said.
Sales in Vancouver dipped 1.7 per cent in June from May figures. “Property sales above $1-million in Vancouver West, West Vancouver, and Richmond now account for a smaller but still elevated share of national activity,” the report noted.
Many markets saw major sales gains in June, including Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, London, Hamilton, and Victoria. Toronto’s market remained stable.
Earlier this week, Toronto-Dominion Bank economists described Vancouver as “the poster child for those individuals worried about a real estate bubble here in Canada.” They forecast that the market, which many worry is overheating, will cool with sales and prices on average decreasing by 15.2 per cent and 10.2 per cent, respectively, over the next two years. full story -->>
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