TARA PERKINS
Other
Home sales continued to be strong in a number of major cities in November, with preliminary local data indicating that the country’s housing market is still rebounding.
The number of homes that changed hands by way of the MLS system in greater Toronto last month came in 13.9 per cent higher than a year earlier, the Toronto Real Estate Board said Wednesday.
Detached homes in the downtown 416 area code saw a 23.9 per cent jump in sales, while 12.7 per cent more existing downtown condos changed hands. There was a decline in sales of semi-detached homes downtown, while townhouses had softer sales growth.
The average selling price for all types of homes in Greater Toronto was $538,881, up 11.3 per cent from a year earlier. The MLS Home Price Index benchmark, which seeks to account for any change in the types of homes that are selling, rose 5.7 per cent.
Meanwhile, Calgary’s local real estate board said that sales in that city came in 19 per cent higher than last November. So far this year Calgary’s sales are 11 per cent higher than the long-term average.
The benchmark price of a single-family home in Calgary was $470,600 in November, 8.5 per cent higher than a year earlier.
Vancouver’s sales were up 37.7 per cent from a year earlier. But, with the city still recovering from a deep sales slump, last month’s sales were 1.2 per cent below the ten-year average. They were also 12.8 per cent below the prior month’s level.
“This year’s activity has resulted in gradual and modest increases in home prices of approximately 1 per cent over the last 12 months in the region,” stated Sandra Wyant, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.
Sales of existing homes nationwide in October were 8.3 per cent higher than a year earlier, slightly below economists’ expectations. The Canadian Real Estate Association will release November’s national data later this month.