 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./ J( J4 G9 ^4 a+ x$ C+ {
7 ^" {( j' ] e, BThe average sale price of a home last month was $281,133, a 9.9% decline from a year ago. It's the fifth straight month that prices have fallen in the country's major markets on a year over year basis, and each month the percentage decline has increased.
4 a1 n8 v+ G7 V/ f' g) l
! {- R' r" H" C( ]4 lSales also continue to decline across the country. In major markets, sales in October were down 15.1% from September. The 32,046 sales in October for the entire country were the lowest monthly level since July, 2002.2 }$ Y F. {# p1 v3 @
" v* o- |+ p, V* z9 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."
1 R1 p$ Q8 A" ]; r$ h8 q
2 r+ d# {" x1 Z( W cCREA 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.; f: Y. z- v+ Q) [) {
" X4 D& [4 U4 ~) v# i" X' s
"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.% D Q& [* O: P3 C9 Z4 c
1 w2 h P5 P' f" K7 k+ L+ V! qHe 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.
- C! N: F8 H: h6 b4 a$ d" H# Y2 O: h; K6 J" [
The market is expected to get some relief from the fact that new listings are expected to decline, Mr. Klump says.! x* y8 P; h' z9 j( d
: J+ t) ?2 K, cCREA 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.
6 K; |* N. Z% Y* W
8 p/ V& ?* |$ A3 A0 ?, }* [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. |
|