 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.. g* C' i. u" O, F# n. a( F9 c
* ^: v7 W9 e2 j& o
The average sale price of a home last month was $281,133, a 9.9% decline from a year ago. It's the fifth straight month that prices have fallen in the country's major markets on a year over year basis, and each month the percentage decline has increased.9 p9 C8 B& N$ F& |# J+ C
. J6 t, M* F% A) d" 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." ~0 y5 m" m( f9 Y% W% p0 J( X
6 W1 r% S$ j4 P" K
"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."" z& G6 d$ [* J7 a9 k# O
5 }: l4 i D0 JCREA 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.
' e1 Q2 g( R/ s! ~+ b
* r# x3 O, l3 g! l0 Z0 {"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.) O U1 G* p+ E$ B9 S) A
V( }( E: q- Z
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.
9 e. G- l7 U( g! C9 [
" i4 @7 N: m7 E$ ^9 i4 g' n7 b+ XThe market is expected to get some relief from the fact that new listings are expected to decline, Mr. Klump says.4 Z: B) I( `! ^
: s* T0 Q' l0 N9 d, fCREA 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.# I3 `; e+ I4 G) q8 f1 w
/ Y- Y( I) ~3 V: LThe 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. |
|