Earlier this week the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) released monthly home sales statistics for across the country, reporting that sales were unchanged from October to November of this year. While home sales strengthened in half of all local housing markets last month, including increases in Montreal, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hamilton-Burlington, Barrie, and Windsor-Essex, those increases were tempered by a monthly decline in the Greater Toronto Area.
CREA President Beth Crosbie added that “sales and prices are still running strong in some areas while others are seeing subdued levels of activity with slower price gains or modest price declines”. Due to the local nature of real estate market trends, it’s important to speak with a licensed sales representative who can offer you more accurate information about the housing market in your area of Ottawa.
Home Sales Up from Last Year in Half of Local Markets
Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales activity last month stood 2.7% above levels reported in November of 2013, with sales up from last year’s levels in about half of all local markets. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity for the year-to-date in November was 5% above levels reported for the same period last year, and was 2.4% above the 10-year average for year-to-date sales.
National Housing Market Remains Within Balanced Territory
New supply was down in just over half of all local markets, led by Greater Toronto, with the number of newly listed homes across Canada decreasing 0.4% when compared to October. The national sales-to-new-listings ratio stood at 56% in November, which is marginally tighter compared to the previous three months in which the sales-to-new-listings ratio averaged 55.7%. However a sales-to-new-listings ratio between 40 and 60% is typically consistent with a balanced housing market, and the ratio remained within this range in almost 60% of all local markets in November.
The number of months of inventory reported for the end of November was 5.8 months. Like the sales-to-new-listings ratio, the number of months of inventory has remained stable for the past four months and is within balanced market territory. The number of months of inventory is an important measure of the balance between housing supply and demand, representing the number of months it would take to completely liquidate current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.
National Average Home Price Increases 5.7%
Price gains across the country have held steady between 5 and 5.5% since the beginning of this year, and in November the Aggregate Composite MLS Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) rose by 5.19% year-over-year. The biggest year-over-year price gains were seen by two-storey single family homes, with gains of 6.79%, followed by townhouse/row units at 5.63%. Price growth was comparatively more modest for one-storey single family homes and apartment units, with price gains of 4.20% and 3.18%, respectively. The MLS® HPI provides a better gauge of price trends than when using averages because it is not affected by changes in the mix of sales activity.
The actual (not seasonally adjusted) average price for homes sold in Canada in November 2014 was $413,649, a year-over-year increase of 5.7%. This price accounts for sales activity in some of Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets, including Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto; with these two markets excluded from the calculation the average home price was $331,743, a year-over-year increase of just 5%.
To read the full sales report, please visit the CREA website. You can also contact us directly for more information, or find a sales representative who can help you. For those interested in buying or selling a home, feel free to browse our active residential listings or take a look at our online guides for buyers and sellers. Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog to receive the latest updates about the real estate market in your area!
