The Canadian Real Estate Association released its first monthly housing performance report, and in it were a few noteworthy nuggets of interest
The Canadian Real Estate Association released its first monthly housing performance report, and in it were a few noteworthy nuggets of interest.
Ontario has solid performance
Bolstered by Toronto’s read hot market, Ontario enjoyed the best performance of any market that sold more than 100 homes, with the average price jumping 19.8% year-over-year to $556,631 in January. (PEI had a larger average price increase of +26.5%).
York Region: Home to the country’s most expensive homes
York Region may be the country’s hottest market, with the average price jumping 29.3% to $1,040,512. A total of 975 homes were sold in January, up 5.9% year-over-year.
Vancouver continues its slide
The average home price was down 18.9% year-over-year in January, falling to $878,242 from last January’s mark of $1,083,177.
Sales were also down significantly, falling 39.7% year-over-year. A total of 1,553 homes exchanged hands.
Alberta holding strong
Despite a major decline in the average home price in Fort Mac, all other markets saw increases in average home prices, led by Lloydminster, which enjoyed a whopping 49.9% year-over-year average price jump.
Other markets experienced more modest hikes; notably Edmonton (+3.8%) and Calgary (+2.7%).
Housing to contribute less to economy
“Housing activity will not provide the boost to overall economic growth in 2017 that it did in 2015 and the first half of 2016, as first-time homebuyers will find it more difficult to qualify for a mortgage and credit availability is diminished by the disproportionate impact of the new regulations on nonbank lenders,” Dr. Sherry Cooper, Dominion Lending Centres chief economist, wrote in a research note following CREA’s release.
