Strong year-end sales put a crown on a year that started slow but ended big. We entered 2009 with a global recession at our backs and a real estate meltdown to the south. However consumer confidence started to return in the second quarter and the real estate market was the first place in the country to show signs of the recovery.
"After a slow start to the year, existing home sales rebounded during the second half of 2009,” said Tom Lebour, President of Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB). “As consumer confidence improved, many households moved to take advantage of affordable home ownership opportunities. The strong residential real estate sector was a key contributor to overall economic recovery in Canada.”
“In 12 months, we went from the worst January in 20 years to the third best December,” said Paul Penner, President of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. “Home buyers took Boxing Day shopping to new levels with some Fraser Valley REALTORS® showing multiple homes per day between Christmas and New Years.”
The overall trend for 2009 was one of increasing sales, decreasing inventory and prices rebounding. We’re seeing the combined effect of fewer homes being listed, which is normal for this time of year, a flurry of buying activity, plus a decrease in the number of new homes being built. This has put pressure on prices particularly on homes in the lower to mid-range markets.
Below is a brief summary of sales activities in some areas across the country:
Ontario – Home sales remain strong in December
Toronto, January 6, 2010 – Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 87,308 Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) transactions in 2009 – a 17% increase over 2008. This result included 5,541 sales in December. The 2009 result was in line with the healthy levels of sales experienced between 2004 and 2006, but lower than the record of 93,193 set in 2007.
The average home price in 2009 climbed 4% to $395,460. The average price for December transactions was $411,931.
“Market conditions became very tight in the latter half of 2009. Sales climbed strongly relative to the number of homes listed for sale, resulting in robust price growth that more than offset average price declines in the winter,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “A greater supply of listings in 2010 will see home prices grow at a sustainable pace.”
In December, the median price was $349,000, from the $305,000 recorded during December of 2008.
Ottawa, January 6, 2010 - Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 689 residential properties in December compared with 467 in December 2008, an increase of 47.5%. This brings the total number of residential properties sold through the MLS® system in 2009 to 14,742, up 7.4% from 2008 and setting a new record. The previous record of 14,565 sales was set in 2007. The average price for all of 2009 was $303,888, an increase of 4.9 per cent over 2008.
“Ottawa’s housing market felt the chill of the global financial crisis last winter, but sales warmed up even before the spring weather arrived, and over the course of the year Ottawa had five record-breaking months of sales. Listing inventory was at a low level throughout 2009, which led to many multiple-offer situations,” said Board President Pierre de Varennes. “Ottawa’s housing market bounced back very strongly from its brief downturn, and we ended the year ahead of the previous annual sales record, which certainly no one expected back in January,” he added.
In December 2009, the average sale price for a condominium-class property was $246,062, an increase of 17.9% over December 2008, and the average sale price of a residential-class property was $330,471, an increase of 12.8% over December 2008.
Hamilton, January 6, 2010 – The Greater Hamilton-Burlington area resale market reported a total of 779 units sold in December, indicating an increase of 70% over the same month last year, but only 18% higher than December 2007.
The total unit sales for 2009 are being reported at 5.8% higher than 2008, while new units listed are 6.8% lower for the year-to-date, according to MLS® statistics released by the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB). The average price of freehold residential properties sold in the month of December was $298,641, an increase of 13% over the same month last year, and a decrease of 10.2% over last month.
The average price for all freehold residential properties sold in 2009 was 2.2% higher than 2008. In the condominium market the average price of condominiums in December was $241,574, an increase of 26.3% over December 2008, and an increase of 5.3% over last month. The average price for all condominium properties sold in 2009 was 4% higher than 2008. The average sale price reflects the dollar volume of residential sales divided by the number of total residential units sold.
December’s total residential average sales price increased 14.6% over the same month in 2008, and the average price for the year to date increased 2.6% over 2008.
The total number of units listed for sale during December was 826, which is 51% more than were listed in the same period in 2008.
British Columbia – Year of the real estate rebound for Fraser Valley
Surrey, January 5, 2010 – Results from Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s MLS® in December reflect the real estate story of 2009: recovery.
The Board’s MLS® processed 16,721 sales in 2009, compared to 13,194 the previous year, an increase of 26%. However, it received 15% fewer new listings during the same time period – 30,221 in 2009 compared to 35,651 in 2008. Over the year, the number of active listings for buyers to choose from dropped by 34% going from 9,960 properties in December 2008 to 6,534 in December 2009.
The MLSLink Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for detached homes was $497,732 in December compared to $464,189 in December 2008, an increase of 7.2%. Although prices have gradually recovered, they have not yet reached the previous benchmark high of $513,798 in May 2008. The benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhouses in December 2009 was $318,174, a 7.4% increase compared to $296,296 in December 2008. That price also last peaked at $335,991 in May 2008.
The benchmark price of apartments decreased by 0.3% year-over-year going from $237,786 in December 2008 to $237,157 in December 2009. It’s previous high was in April 2008, at $260,037.
Vancouver January 5, 2010 – The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reports that total unit sales of detached, attached and apartment properties in 2009 reached 35,669, a 44.8% increase from the 24,626 unit sales recorded in 2008, but a 6.3% decline from the 38,050 residential sales in 2007.
The number of homes listed for sale on the MLS® in Greater Vancouver declined 15.5% in 2009 to 52,869 compared to the 62,561 properties listed in 2008.
Residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 2,515 in December 2009, an increase of 172.2% from the 924 sales recorded in December 2008, and an 18.4% decline compared to November 2009 when 3,083 home sales occurred.
The residential benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for Greater Vancouver increased 16.2% to $562,463 between Decembers 2008 and 2009.
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 2,153 in December 2009. This represents a 38.9% increase compared to the 1,550 new units listed in December 2008 and a 41.1% decline compared to November 2009 when 3,653 properties were listed.
Sales of detached properties in December 2009 increased 159.2% to 902, compared to 348 sales in December 2008. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 18.3% to $766,816 compared to December 2008.
Sales of apartment properties in December 2009 increased 176.7% to 1,154, compared to 417 sales in December 2008. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 14.8% since December 2008 to $382,573.
Attached property sales in December 2009 increased 188.7% to 459, compared with the 159 sales in December 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 12.9% between Decembers 2008 and 2009 to $478,093.
Alberta - Housing recovery continues with active December market
Calgary, January 5, 2010 – The Calgary housing market continues to show signs of a sustained recovery according to figures released today by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®). The number of single family homes sold in December 2009 in the city of Calgary was up 78% from the same time a year ago, while condominiums sales saw an increase of 66% from the same time a year ago.
December 2009 saw 799 single family homes sold in the city of Calgary. This is a decrease of 27% from 1,095 sales in November 2009. In December 2008, single family home sales totalled 449. The number of condominium sales for the month of December 2009 was 341. This was a decrease of 32% from the 504 condominium transactions recorded in November 2009. In December 2008, the number of condominium sales were 205.
The average price of a single family home in the city of Calgary in December 2009 was $451,349, showing a decrease of 3% from November 2009, when the average price was $464,444, and showing an increase of 8% from December 2008, when the average price was $417,398. The average price of a condominium in the city of Calgary was $288,640, showing a 2% decrease from November 2009, when the average price was $294,264 and a 5% increase over last year, when the average price was $274,919.
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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.
