 鲜花( 7)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
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.
( u! R% x& x, M: n, I9 p
2 n m8 Q0 J$ ] t, U- I( BThe average sale price of a home last month was $281,133, a 9.9% decline from a year ago. It's the fifth straight month that prices have fallen in the country's major markets on a year over year basis, and each month the percentage decline has increased.
- m( [ f! m, N% j$ E6 i- i V4 _0 S. }: ]( Y* f
Sales 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.- {3 E! `& C) E; _ H
' Q; e5 n+ `6 X2 y; ~6 `, C"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 S/ D( o9 a. R
' C4 s# x9 r+ q0 HCREA 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.- l; @1 l s0 ~( |8 X$ X
2 }, q# B2 T# Z& q+ y6 `"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.
% ^ r6 H* I2 d& ~# m- M4 O) S* |+ x9 {: J1 g, p* o2 T/ ?- v, _
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.
% f. z0 b: u# X$ [5 f# \" j3 K7 w/ ^: j: Q% h! U# x
The market is expected to get some relief from the fact that new listings are expected to decline, Mr. Klump says.
5 s! {9 j. G4 V4 q2 N i( Q4 E$ b3 m1 X" i0 E! h, D
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.- ^* b! v- U5 U0 { B% j) |
: g% o3 p6 g6 W; Q i
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. |
|