 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.
2 t$ r- ~$ l6 `' |+ ]" h; E, J5 J- t: c) Z7 S; v* ~2 z4 w
The average sale price of a home last month was $281,133, a 9.9% decline from a year ago. It's the fifth straight month that prices have fallen in the country's major markets on a year over year basis, and each month the percentage decline has increased.
: h- _7 k$ ~ ^' k: y
, t2 n, D2 L' v* z1 }& o( W2 E7 ?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- N# c5 V9 K$ C9 L* X) m8 R
5 l$ V2 [: _/ t' `"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."6 T6 R! m; l$ m/ s9 F$ @3 K
5 {9 h; n W: i- T2 O* \6 H6 G
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.
" m5 s; @ S* A: u \1 [$ O! o' U i* A5 a+ Z: @
"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.
3 p! b5 P6 C: |, m9 X9 L
" Z3 T1 u0 A8 p4 j. X6 `; j, 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.% g9 E U# T+ `8 ]
3 s A- m1 }2 [3 q1 `# }1 U# V
The market is expected to get some relief from the fact that new listings are expected to decline, Mr. Klump says.
0 s/ H/ v! N' t8 F
; v% k! w, O" N# b6 m. B9 W! eCREA 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.) P; F) ?0 y; u3 a9 @' X
" |, S2 d9 i4 q& I$ R; t' `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. |
|