Hopes for a continued strong selling season have been boosted by data showing that real estate values across Canada have increased 3.5% year-on-year, taking the average home value to $685,809.
The provinces enjoying the most significant gains were New Brunswick, Alberta, and Newfoundland and Labrador, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) figures for February.
Additional good news includes a 1.6% increase in the number of homes coming onto the market in the same month.
CREA said this brought the ratio between sales and new listings to 55.6%, which is right in the sweet spot of the 45% to 65% range that pundits consider represents a balanced market.
As an experienced real estate agency in your area, we’re seeing increased buyer confidence, despite the Bank of Canada keeping interest rates at 5% in its determination to reduce inflation further.
CREA chairman Larry Cerqua was quoted recently as saying: “After two years of mostly quiet resale housing activity, there’s a feeling that things are about to pick up”.
Home sales in February were 19.7% higher than the corresponding month last year but still 5% below the 10-year average for the month.
However, sales increased 12.7% over December and January, indicating some buoyancy in the market.
CREA said in its Housing Market Report that a combination of factors would likely power the late spring and summer selling season:
- A boom in population due to immigration.
- Continued tight supply of homes coming onto the market.
- Expectations of multiple cuts to the interest rate before the end of the year.
- Homeowners renegotiating mortgage renewals after enjoying fixed-rate terms that were significantly lower than the 5% to 7% deals currently on offer.