Resale Housing Activity in Canada has Climbed Once Again.
Posted by Scott Applegarth on February 22, 2011 · Leave a Comment
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) recently released statistics showing that the resale housing activity in Canada has climbed once again.
National home sales activity increased by 4.5 per cent in January 2011 compared to December 2010. This is the most activity the market has seen since April 2010, and is now 25 per cent higher than the low that was experienced in July 2010.
Vancouver and Toronto were the top two markets for growth in activity, and more than half of all Canadian markets experienced positive numbers for the month.
Tighter mortgage regulations are set to appear in March of this year, so experts expect to see activity remain high leading up to that point in time. However, it is unclear how these stricter regulations will affect the market after they are put into place.
The tighter regulations were hinted at during December, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that he planned to help Canadians avoid going deeper into debt.
The increase in activity along with more new listings keeps the market balanced. The nation experienced a national sales-to-new listings ratio of 55.7 per cent, signaling a balanced market overall.