Canadian home resales up sixth year in a row.
January 18, 2005 - Sales of existing homes across Canada hit a record high in 2004, according to year end results released Monday, while the number of listings for sale also soared.
In its final report for the year, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported that a record 316,386 homes were sold last year in the country's major urban markets. That was an increase of 2.7 per cent from the previous record set only the year before.
CREA said 2004 was the sixth year in a row that the number of sales increased from the previous year.
Average selling prices also reached a new high, up 10 per cent to $245,149.
The number of new listings jumped 8.6 per cent from 2003 and beat the old record set during the last housing boom that peaked in 1990.
A record finish for the year was long expected as the market benefited in 2004 from record low interest rates, higher disposable incomes and a stable labour market.
At the beginning of the year, however, the consensus among market watchers was for 2004 to ease off from the highs seen in 2003. For 2005, analysts are again expecting a slowdown as supply catches up with demand and the impact of two interest rate hikes from the Bank of Canada last fall drive up mortgage costs.
A slowing to a more balanced market was evident in December's sales figures. The number of sales was down by 1.7 per cent from the month before and average sale prices were steady.
For the coming year, CREA is expecting a drop in the number of sales of six per cent, to 297,6000 units, and the total dollar volume to drop by 2.7 per cent. Average selling prices are expected to increase by only 3.5 per cent to $253,700.
© Copyright Ottawa Business Journal 2005