 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.: {# \3 C+ p4 r9 n& Z" }- ?
B# y$ u! G# S, T
The average sale price of a home last month was $281,133, a 9.9% decline from a year ago. It's the fifth straight month that prices have fallen in the country's major markets on a year over year basis, and each month the percentage decline has increased.* g: L& N9 _- n1 u; B' X3 x# c
! i5 e; E2 D2 V0 l" |( D8 R
Sales also continue to decline across the country. In major markets, sales in October were down 15.1% from September. The 32,046 sales in October for the entire country were the lowest monthly level since July, 2002.
' c; U! ? v0 l7 W y
& L$ L5 g& ~. ]8 E1 d1 S5 r"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."( y6 x4 K( [1 d9 s+ \1 [$ e
5 @' j% B/ Q6 H& ^+ C
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.
o7 ?; N& G+ j& f2 @) \6 O
% r3 o ~/ U$ b' J7 E- l4 N. ^"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.7 X7 u! z. e# ~, G6 r0 W& E
1 `2 W6 V: m) w# f4 X/ {3 ~
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.
% R. \% j# w4 q# H* t3 N8 ~
2 V2 o6 Q5 @9 q$ \. a/ eThe market is expected to get some relief from the fact that new listings are expected to decline, Mr. Klump says.2 H/ U: Q) [' o4 X7 Z) O8 |
, N3 i" L2 X/ J" S N, W1 w
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.
# T( w- B% E' g
8 i- l% S. M! e& zThe 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. |
|