Nationally Home Sales Edge Higher

Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) just released its monthly stats on national housing activity which shows sales edged higher in November 2011 from the previous month.

Release highlights

• Sales activity rose slightly (+0.5%) from October to November on a seasonally  adjusted basis.
• Year-to-year sales remained in line with the 10 year average, but pulled further ahead of last year's levels.
• The number of newly listed homes was down 3.4% from October to November.
• The national housing makret remains balanced, but is edging closer to seller's market territory.
• The national average price posted a 4.6% year-to-year gain in November, the smallest increase since January.

Full details of CREA release > click here

Source of Graph & Text: CREA

NOTE: The information contained in CREA"s release combines both major and natinal MLS sales information from the previous month.  CREA cautions that the average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbhorhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas.  Statistical information containted in its report include all housing types.

A close look at Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board (OMREB) MLS stats shows Kelowna and West Kelowna sale activity varied according to housing type in November 2011:

• Kelowna single family residential (detached home) was down -11.96% from October and strata down -2.74%
• West Kelowna house sales was up +29.27% from the previous month an strata up +71.43%

Interestingly in spite of less November Kelowna house sales the median house sale price $430,000 increased +2.14% from October, West Kelowna $426,900 increased 0.71%.

Kelowna November 2011 vs October 2011 strata median sale price $225,000 decreased -15.09% whereas West Kelwowa's $305,000 increased +2.52%.

NOTE: The median price: is half are below, half are above; literally the median sale price is the price in the middle if you line up all prices from lowest to highest.

The average price: all sold prices are added together into a sum; the sum is then divided by the number of homes that sold.

KELOWNA

SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL and STRATA (right graph)

WEST KELOWNA

SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL and STRATA (right graph)