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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.( t/ H! Y( V p2 a; H; X0 r; m7 I
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The average sale price of a home last month was $281,133, a 9.9% decline from a year ago. It's the fifth straight month that prices have fallen in the country's major markets on a year over year basis, and each month the percentage decline has increased.+ I+ V4 T5 c& T' i9 |7 z$ Q
/ ]: Y, m! {2 x2 P$ a3 RSales 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.
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9 {- }# c# L, ^/ t. ^"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."
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2 h; x3 U& d" s& y. P# [& vCREA 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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?/ D6 W k- }9 T0 l- V"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./ Q4 d5 k$ }- j' G
5 u; _% H" U. N0 j: ]7 G0 S6 `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.
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5 }- k& t6 t" r% U" |The market is expected to get some relief from the fact that new listings are expected to decline, Mr. Klump says.: ^) R+ @4 j( f; \" |/ `
/ n' h5 W d+ H3 R/ s) MCREA 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.
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) A! ^( K& t& c& v; O8 dThe 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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