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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.# _9 L- n% e* h2 P1 w" O
, Z9 w5 [ j1 }0 U- }The 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.& d0 h2 p4 P( T5 A. y6 `
9 q* H5 @8 B% F7 O# H3 ~+ tSales 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.' n) d; {3 z9 w( |+ ^* Z7 t/ ?8 {
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"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."+ R: W" f7 p; i( t, T, A+ X2 a
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CREA 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.
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f! `. h0 B' U' x, N6 D"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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. V4 R) T4 K6 P8 ~He 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.7 L+ i: U, X& G4 Y8 l7 d8 f1 O; z
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The market is expected to get some relief from the fact that new listings are expected to decline, Mr. Klump says.
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H H' W: n3 K7 a3 TCREA 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.! p) v4 h- _6 ]+ O
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The 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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