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A slowdown in some of the country's most expensive cities for housing continues to drag down the average sale price of a home in Canada, the Canadian Real Estate Association said.) I. E: L K% W
. u! k: t( B, ~. U/ @) iThe average sale price of a home last month was $281,133, a 9.9% decline from a year ago. It's the fifth straight month that prices have fallen in the country's major markets on a year over year basis, and each month the percentage decline has increased.
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% M5 p9 D2 R% SSales also continue to decline across the country. In major markets, sales in October were down 15.1% from September. The 32,046 sales in October for the entire country were the lowest monthly level since July, 2002.) q, I# w5 T1 u3 _
$ d: w Q2 L2 R, ["The breadth and depth of the drop in MLS activity suggests a major downshift in consumers psychology," said Gregory Klump, chief economist CREA. "That has moved many homebuyers to the sidelines until economic news begins to improve."0 K$ W5 T4 q8 \) X
# x! h0 U5 B. I' xCREA said activity was down in 75% of the Canadian markets it surveys, including the five most active, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. Toronto accounted for one third of the decline in the national sales figure./ H+ a! I7 @0 `6 ?
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"Many homebuyers across Canada battened down the hatches in October as they were concerned with dire headlines about stock market volatility and a global economic downturn," said Mr. Klump.
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[* x* U1 E) s, LHe said the government's tougher restrictions on home buying played into the decline. New rules that came into effect last month have forced consumers to have at least 5% down on any home purchase. Mortgages can also be amortized over 35 years, down from 40 years, making for a larger monthly payment.. v# G% D5 b* y$ P+ [" y) p
$ L" V- O. v2 O% a6 PThe market is expected to get some relief from the fact that new listings are expected to decline, Mr. Klump says.9 N1 Y( z& c# k6 @; e
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CREA president Calvin Lindberg said consumer confidence has not been this low since the mid-1990s. "The major drop in consumer and a steady stream of economic bad news from the financial markets is taking its toll on the national housing market," he said.& U" ^& a) W& s/ t7 g9 ?2 y! N
: d' j& F! T0 {$ W' bThe association pointed out a decline in housing is bad news for the overall economy, saying spin off spending from MLS transaction is about $15.3-billion per year when you include moving and renovation costs and the purchase of new furniture and appliances. |
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