The number of residential property sales made in Canada increased slightly last month according to new data released by the Canadian Real Estate Association.
The latest figures show that house sales increased by 0.6 per cent in April compared to March, with sales improving in more than half of all local markets, led by gains in Greater Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Victoria.
Property Market in Toronto
“National sales activity is stable and the market remains balanced,” said CREA President Laura Leyser. “That said, trends for sales and listings and for the balance between the two can be and often are very different between and within local housing markets, and between property types and neighbourhoods.”
Since changes to mortgage rules came into effect in 2012, national house sales in Canada have been running 9 to 10 per cent below levels posted in the first half of 2012. However, the market is now levelling out and the number of sales made in April 2013 was just 3.1 per cent below levels reported in April 2012, although transactions were down on a year-over-year basis in about 60 per cent of local markets.
However, while the number of sales may be down on an annual basis, prices are still rising. The national average price for residential homes sold in April 2013 was CDN$380,588, representing an increase of 1.3 per cent from the same month last year.
Price growth was strongest for one-storey single family homes (+3.1 per cent), followed by two-storey single family homes (+2.6 per cent), townhouse/row units (+1.7 per cent), and apartment units (+1.0 per cent).