In a clear sign that the housing market has shifted into recovery mode, residential housing sales in Canada’s major markets has reported record sales in July. Toronto and Vancouver led the charge with sales among the highest in history for both local real estate boards.

“The strength of the market, amid the most significant global recession in recent history once again underscores its relevance to the nation’s economic engine,” says Michael Polzler, Executive Vice President, RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada. “Canadians believe in homeownership—a fact best illustrated by the purchasers who ventured forward in recent months and snapped up some of the best real estate deals this market has seen in years. Those who chose to sit it out on the sidelines are now facing a market in transition, characterized by the threat of rising interest rates, low inventory levels, and upward pressure on housing values.”

Overall, major markets began to recover in March, posting escalating sales in April, May and June. This impetus is expected to continue throughout the remainder of 2009, with most centres now forecasting year-end sales on par or ahead of 2008 levels.

Average prices are holding steady or climbing, days on market are down, and inventory levels continue to tighten, especially at entry-level price points.

"The factors contributing to last month's sales are completely different than they were in 2005 ," explained Fraser Valley Board President Paul Penner. "Low interest rates, home prices that are lower than last year by about 6%, and a surge of first-time home buyers that came back to the market in late spring have created the right conditions for a '”move-up”' market.

“Households confident in their positioning within the current economic environment have taken advantage of housing affordability in the GTA,” said TREB President Tom Lebour. “The real estate sector has been one of the sectors making a positive contribution to economic growth in the GTA, not to mention Ontario and Canada more broadly.”

Below is a brief summary of sales activities in some areas across the country:

Ontario - GTA REALTORS® report resale record in July

Toronto, August 6, 2009 – In July 2009, Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported a record 9,967 sales, up 28% from July 2008. The average price for July transactions was $395,414, up by 6% compared to the same month last year.

Year-to-date sales at 50,632 are down 1.2% compared to the first seven months of 2008. The average price at $385,808 is down by less than .05%.

“The steep drop-off in sales experienced at the beginning of the year has all but dissipated,” explained Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “With five months left to go in the year, it is probable that total existing home sales in 2009 will be at or above last year’s level.”

Hamilton, August 6, 2009 – The Hamilton-Burlington area resale market reported a total of 1,369 units sold in July, indicating an increase of 10.6% over the same month last year. The total unit sales for the first seven months of 2009 are being reported at 7.4% lower for the same period last year, while new units listed are 8.3% lower for the year-to-date.

The average price of freehold residential properties sold in the month of July was $311,945, an increase of 3.3% over July last year. The average sale price reflects the dollar volume of residential sales divided by the number of total residential units sold.

In the condominium market the average price of condominiums in July was $233,509, an increase of 6.4% over July 2008.

Ottawa, July 6, 2009 - Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,895 residential properties in June compared with 1,685 in June 2008. This is an increase of 12.5%. Listing inventory is at a very low level, which has led to competitive bidding on many properties.

The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in June in the Ottawa area was $306,924, an increase of 3% over June 2008. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $236,830, an increase of 8.3% over June 2008. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $326,761, an increase of 2.5% over June 2008.

British Columbia - July real estate sales reach record level in Fraser Valley.

Surrey, August 5, 2009 - Fraser Valley saw the highest number of real estate transactions ever recorded for the month of July. There were 2,089 sales processed on the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board's Multiple Listings Service® (MLS®), an increase of 62.3% compared to 1,284 sales in July of last year. The previous highest July was in 2005, with 2,051 sales.

In July, 37% of Fraser Valley buyers were first-timers. In June, it was one third. That volume creates a significant ripple effect, as the sellers of those homes buy up.

The Housing Price Index (HPI) of a detached home in July was $477,420, a decrease of 5.6% compared to July 2008. In the last three months, the HPI benchmark price of a detached home has increased by 3.7%.

The HPI benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhouses decreased 6.9% from $327,604 in July 2008 to $304,940 in July 2009, and in the last three months has increased by 3.3%. The benchmark price of apartments also decreased year-over-year by 8%, going from $254,510 in July of last year to $234,178 in July 2009, and has increased by 1.7% in the last three months.

Alberta - Record housing sales for second month in a row

Edmonton, August 5, 2009 - The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton reported a record number of single month sales of residential properties for the second month in a row. Buyers who created record sales in June carried through for a record in July as well. Although sales were off almost 11% from June the total number of July sales was 2,277, creating a new July record.

“The market is stable and strong sales and market activity are not driving prices up dramatically,” said Charlie Ponde, President of the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton. “Attractive mortgage rates and consumer confidence are powering the local market and sellers are being realistic about their pricing.”

The average single family property sold for $372,741 in July as compared to $369,859 in June (up ¾ of a percent). Condominium prices were down 1% at $244,265 on average in July from $247,071 in June. Duplex and rowhouse prices were up 1.8% from a month ago to $296,284.

Average residential prices were down just over 1% to $324,847. Average prices in all categories in July were down from the same month last year.

“The total value of residential sales for the year has surpassed what they were last year at the same time,” said Ponde. “REALTORS® have sold $3.845 billion worth of residential property so far as compared to $3.842 billion last year at the end of July.” Listing activity was down with just 2,764 properties listed as compared to 3,179 last month and 3,582 in July 2008.

The average days-on-market was 46 in July; down three days from June. At the end of July there were 6,592 residential properties active on the MLS® System down by just 107 properties from June. Total sales through the MLS® System are worth $4.42 billion after just seven months of business.

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Information in this report is collected from the Real Estate Boards operating in each area. The average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.