Canadian home resale numbers back above 2008 levels

Business is booming in the Canadian resale housing market and will continue to do so, according to a report released Friday that shows November sales back above 2008 numbers in all 28 markets surveyed.

The Conference Board of Canada report also showed higher year-over-year prices in 24 of those markets.

While the Canadian real estate market didn't suffer the same kind of collapse seen in the United States, it did see a correction due to the economic downturn.

Friday's report suggests that in most parts of the country, however, the market has come roaring back — to the extent that the only region covered that is considered to still be a buyer's market is Saguenay, Que. Seven others are considered to be sellers' markets and the rest are deemed to be balanced, with neither buyer nor seller having a pricing advantage. The board says this suggests "firm pricing ahead."

Windsor, Ont., a car-manufacturing city that was hit hard by the downturn, is one of those balanced markets, despite home prices there being 10 per cent lower than they were a year ago, before Chrysler and General Motors went into bankruptcy protection, though the number of sales has increased year-over-year.

Compared with October's prices, the numbers look slightly less rosy — sales are up in only 11 of the 28 markets, while prices were lower than October's in 14 of the locations.

In the short term, the board expects prices to grow by seven per cent in Edmonton, Saskatoon and in six Quebec markets, including Montreal and Quebec City.

Prices are expected to increase by five per cent in Victoria, Vancouver, B.C.'s Fraser Valley, Calgary, Regina, Ottawa, Halifax and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Three-per-cent increases are forecast in Winnipeg, Saint John, N.B., and six Ontario markets, including Toronto, Sudbury and St. Catherines.

Prices are expected to remain flat in the Ontario cities of Thunder Bay, Oshawa, London and Windsor.

(Source: Financial Post)