Housing market, led by west, shows better-than-expected performance

Canada's housing market will perform better than expected in 2009, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) said yesterday. The realtor group revised its previous forecast that sales would fall 14.7%. It now says resale market activity will total 432,600 units, a decline of only 0.4%, compared with 2008. It cited stronger-than-expected second-quarter sales for its revised outlook. The group also raised its outlook for prices, saying that average home prices in 2009 will rise 1.5% to $309,500, compared with its previous forecast of a 0.3% decline. B. C., which experienced a 33% decline in sales in 2008, will recover to post a 5.2% gain-- to 72,500 units -- in 2009, CREA forecast. The Alberta market, which fell 21% in 2008, will now post sales this year of 55,000 units, a decline of only 2.5%. CREA however reduced its sales outlook for 2010 to a gain of 5.3%, or 455,400 units.

(Source: Financial Post)