Close X
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
ADVT 
National

Canadian Home Sales Fall 16.9% As Average Price Drops 5% In February: CREA

The Canadian Press, 15 Mar, 2018 01:35 PM
    Canada's national average home price was down five per cent and sales volume was down 16.9 per cent in February compared with a year ago, evidence that many buyers raced to purchase before new mortgage rules came into effect.
     
     
    There was also a 6.5 per cent decline in transactions between January and February, the second month-over-month decline and the lowest reading in nearly five years, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported Thursday.
     
     
    CREA's latest monthly statistics show that home sales were down in February in almost three quarters of all local housing markets tracked by the national association. 
     
     
    “The drop off in sales activity following the record-breaking peak late last year confirms that many homebuyers moved purchase decisions forward late last year before tighter mortgage rules took effect in January,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist in a statement Thursday.
     
     
    The number of homes sold nationally in December hit a record high, ahead of a new stress test for uninsured mortgages that requires potential buyers to show they can service their mortgage payments if rates increase.
     
     
    The federal banking regulator's tougher rules, which took effect Jan. 1, now require a stress test to be applied even to borrowers with more than 20 per cent down payment.
     
     
     
     
    To qualify for federally regulated mortgages, borrowers must be able to afford interest rates that are two percentage points above the contracted rate or the Bank of Canada's five-year benchmark rate, whichever is higher.
     
     
    The stricter residential mortgage lending regulations introduced by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions were aimed at reducing risk in the market amid high housing prices.
     
     
    Homebuying activity has also been dampened by the Bank of Canada's move in January to hike interest rates to 1.25 per cent. The quarter-point increase was the central bank's third since last summer, after hikes in July and September. In January, Canadian home sales fell by 14.5 per cent from the previous month, according to CREA's figures.
     
     
    The national average house price for homes sold in February 2018 was just over $494,000, down five per cent from a year earlier. But excluding Toronto and Vancouver, the country's most active and most expensive markets, the national average price was just under $382,000, up 3.3 per cent from $369,728 a year ago.
     
     
    The number of newly listed homes in February increased by 8.1 per cent, following a plunge of more than 20 per cent in the month prior. However, new listings across the country in February were still 6.4 per cent below the 10-year monthly average and 14.6 per cent below the peak reached in December  2017. New home listings in February were also below the levels recorded every month last year except January 2017.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    B.C. To Upgrade Red-Light Cameras To Catch Speeders At Crash-Prone Intersections

    B.C. To Upgrade Red-Light Cameras To Catch Speeders At Crash-Prone Intersections
    VICTORIA — Red light cameras are being upgraded around British Columbia to help identify vehicles speeding through intersections.

    B.C. To Upgrade Red-Light Cameras To Catch Speeders At Crash-Prone Intersections

    Carole James Hints B.C. Speculation Tax Being Redrawn For Vacation Homes Implications

    Carole James Hints B.C. Speculation Tax Being Redrawn For Vacation Homes Implications
    VICTORIA — British Columbia's finance minister is dropping hints the blueprint for the province's proposed speculation tax is being redrawn after a homeowner backlash.

    Carole James Hints B.C. Speculation Tax Being Redrawn For Vacation Homes Implications

    CMHC Says Pace Of Housing Starts Picked Up In February Compared With January

    CMHC Says Pace Of Housing Starts Picked Up In February Compared With January
      OTTAWA — The pace of new home construction picked up unexpectedly in February driven by strength in the condo market in major cities, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Thursday. 

    CMHC Says Pace Of Housing Starts Picked Up In February Compared With January

    Thousands Face Empty Homes Tax In Vancouver As Declaration Deadline Passes

    Thousands Face Empty Homes Tax In Vancouver As Declaration Deadline Passes
    VANCOUVER — Nearly 8,500 homes have been declared vacant or underused in Vancouver after the submission deadline passed for the city's new empty homes tax.

    Thousands Face Empty Homes Tax In Vancouver As Declaration Deadline Passes

    Rejected Rainbow Crosswalk In Merritt, B.C., Sparks Broader Community Support

    Rejected Rainbow Crosswalk In Merritt, B.C., Sparks Broader Community Support
    MERRITT, B.C. — A decision by city council to reject a proposed rainbow crosswalk near a school in Merritt, B.C., has led community members to offer other locations for the colourful symbol of inclusion, says a high school teacher involved in the project.

    Rejected Rainbow Crosswalk In Merritt, B.C., Sparks Broader Community Support

    PM Trudeau Plans Show Of Solidarity With Canadians Who'd Be Most Hurt By U.S. Tariffs

    Justin Trudeau intends next week to tour regions of the country that are heavily reliant on the steel and aluminum industries in a show of solidarity for those who would be hurt the most by the imposition of stiff U.S. tariffs.

    PM Trudeau Plans Show Of Solidarity With Canadians Who'd Be Most Hurt By U.S. Tariffs