After month upon month of a sizzling hot real estate market in major centres right across the country, Canada’s real estate market began to shift to a more balanced market during the first quarter of 2008. At least, so says the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) in its recently released quarterly report. According to CREA, while existing home sales still remained strong in the first quarter, they declined in comparison to the previous quarter. In the meantime, many homeowners decided to take advantage of record-breaking prices and put their homes on the market. In fact, new MLS® listings reached their highest level on record. This made the national resale housing market more balanced compared to any other quarter over the past nine years. That’s quite a shift!
Seasonally adjusted MLS® quarterly sales in Canada's major markets declined 7.1% to 81,747 units compared to the previous quarter -- the fourth highest sales quarter on record. The decline in activity largely reflected fewer sales in Toronto in February and March. Sales activity in Toronto accounts for about one-quarter of all existing home sales in major markets in Canada. Activity also softened in Vancouver and Calgary but remained very strong in other markets. The Prairies continue to be Canada’s hottest market, and new quarterly sales records were set in Regina and Saskatoon, and reached their second highest ever levels in Newfoundland & Labrador, and Thunder Bay.
Meanwhile, seasonally adjusted new MLS® residential listings climbed 4.8% quarter-over-quarter to 154,217 units in the first quarter. That’s the highest quarterly level ever recorded. New listings surged in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver compared to the fourth quarter last year. Higher listings in those markets more than offset a quarterly decline in newly listed properties in Toronto.
The quarterly jump in new MLS® listings and decline in sales activity made the resale housing market more balanced in the first quarter of 2008 than during any other quarter in the past nine years. Nearly every major market in Canada became more balanced. Edmonton and Calgary remain the most balanced major markets. Negotiations most heavily favour sellers in Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg, where existing home markets are the tightest.
In March, the MLS® residential average price increased 4% year-over-year to $329,383. New records for average price were set in a number of major markets in March, including Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Hamilton-Burlington, Ottawa and Halifax. So, how does this return to more normal levels for most Canadian markets affect you? Well, as your local Coldwell Banker® real estate professional will tell you -- whether you’re a buyer or a seller, a shift in market conditions requires a change in your personal strategy. Contact: Maureen Reed, Sales Representative at office: 416-231-5000 or directly at 416-895-4883 www.resalehomes.name, and take advantage of the helpful advice