Market Watch July 2016 - Spring Market Capped Off with Strong June

We are certainly in an interesting environment for ownership housing. There is no doubt that demand is at a record level, but would-be home buyers continue to face an uphill battle against a constrained supply of listings, which has perpetuated strong price growth.

It’s hard to say what fuelled this surge in the market. It could be a combination of great weather and increased buyers activity. We will be closely watching the trend over the summer when sales typically slow down as buyers turn their attention to summer activities.

Ontario -  Spring Market Capped Off with Strong June

Toronto, July 6, 2016 -- Toronto Real Estate Board President Larry Cerqua announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 12,794 residential transactions through TREB's MLS® System in June 2016. This result was 7.5% higher than the 11,905 sales reported in June 2015. In line with the prevailing trend so far this year, the number of new listings was down by 3.8%.

"As I start my term as TREB President, we are certainly in an interesting environment for ownership housing. There is no doubt that demand is at a record level, but would-be home buyers continue to face an uphill battle against a constrained supply of listings, which has perpetuated strong price growth. Buyers and sellers alike continue to benefit from the value a REALTOR® brings to a transaction," said Mr. Cerqua.

"As the federal, provincial and local levels of government discuss housing policy in the coming months, issues affecting the lack of supply in the GTA should be of paramount importance. TREB will be undertaking, and making public, results of additional research in the second half of 2016, with the goal of proactively adding to the housing policy discussion," added Mr. Cerqua.

The MLS® Home Price Index Composite Benchmark was up by 16% on a year- overyear basis. The average selling price for all home types combined was up by a slightly higher annual rate of 16.8% to $746,546. The single-detached, semi- detached and townhouse market segments led the way in terms of price growth.

"When TREB surveyed consumer intentions for 2016, we found that the majority of GTA households who were likely to purchase a home continued to be pointed towards some form of ground oriented housing. This is why we continue to see strong competition between buyers in many neighbourhoods where supply remains constrained," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Director of Market Analysis.

Ottawa, July 6, 2016 - Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,985 residential properties in June through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® System, compared with 1,691 in June 2015, an increase of 17.4%. The five-year average for June sales is 1,717.

“Sales this past month contributed not only to the highest June on record, it also turned out to be the highest sales in any month ever in the history of the Ottawa market,” remarked Shane Silva, President of the Ottawa Real Estate Board. “The closest comparable sales figures are from May 2009 with 1,967 units sold. Normally the resale market has a slight dip in units sold from May to June each year. May is routinely the peak month for units sold; however, this year June sales increased by 3.3% over May.”

“It’s hard to say what fuelled this surge for June. It could be a combination of great weather and buyer activity from other markets, or it could be an anomaly. We will be closely watching the trend over the summer when sales typically slow down as buyers turn their attention to summer activities,” Silva went on to explain.

 June sales included 331 in the condominium property class, and 1,654 in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, townhouse, etc.), which is registered as a condominium, as well as properties which are co-operatives, life leases, and timeshares. The residential property class includes all other residential properties.

“Year-to-date units sold for the first half of 2016 are also performing quite well compared to the first half of last year, up 5.4%. While year-to-date average sale price remains the same compared to last year,” says Silva. “A total of 3,220 residential and condo properties were listed in June, capping the month off with approximately 8,300 properties on the market, down 11.5% from June 2015.”

The average sale price of a residential-class property sold in June in the Ottawa area was $399,382, a decrease of 1.3% over June 2015. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $264,913, a decrease of 2.4% over June 2015. The Board cautions that average sale price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The average sale price is calculated based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold.

“Residential two-storey and bungalows continue to have the highest concentration of buyers in June,” says Silva. “In addition to residential and condominium sales, OREB Members have assisted clients with renting over 1,500 properties since the beginning of the year.”

British Columbia – Tight Market Conditions Prevail Around the Province

Vancouver, July 14, 2016. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a record 12,906 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in June, up 14.3% from the same month last year. Total sales dollar volume was $8.97 billion in June, up 25.7% compared to the previous year. The average MLS® residential price in the province was up 10% year-over-year, to $694,925.

"Robust housing demand in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and the Okanagan drove sales growth in June," said Brendon Ogmundson, BCREA Economist. "At the same time, the inventory of homes for sale continues to slide lower, creating very tight market conditions around the province."

"The supply of resale homes is remarkably low across BC, but particularly so in Victoria and the Fraser Valley," added Ogmundson. The sales-to-active listings ratio has eclipsed 60% in both Victoria and the Fraser Valley, corresponding to less than two months of supply given current demand.

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume increased 53.2% to $49.9 billion, when compared with the same period in 2015. Residential unit sales climbed by 30.6% to 67,361 units, while the average MLS® residential price was up 17.3% to $741,150.

Alberta - Sales activity slows in June while prices stay level

Edmonton,  July 5, 2016 - The number of residential units reported sold in the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were flat month-over-month but down 11.1% year-over-year for June. There were 1,117 single family sales reported in June 2016. That number is down 10.1% from June 2015, but on par with the 1,119 reported sales in May. Reported condo sales at 465 were up 11.5% month over month and down 18.7% from the previous year. Duplex/rowhouse sales at 173 are up 9.8% from last year but down 14.8% from May.

All residential average sale prices remained virtually the same as June of 2015, up only 0.1%. At $435,366, single family homes experienced a decline in average price of 1.1% from May and 1.8% from June last year. The average condo price was bolstered by the sale of several luxury properties.  At $263,326, it was up 3.5% from May and 2.5% from last year. The average duplex/rowhouse sold for $352,7785 (up 4.6% y/y, up 0.7% m/m).

“Although June’s residential unit sales are up slightly over May, we did not see the numbers set in June of 2015. Also notable is that the sustained lull in sales we have seen over the past two years has not been reflected in average price. Continued sales of higher priced properties in the region have helped keep average prices strong,” says REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Chair Steve Sedgwick. 

Total new residential listings in June were 3,041, down 6% from May and down 4.7% from the previous year. There were 8,179 residential properties available in the Edmonton CMA at the end of June. That is up from 7,177 in June of 2015 and 5,609 in June of 2014.

“Inventory remains high and buyers continue to have good selection,” Sedgwick said. “This is welcome particularly to those looking in the popular $350,000 to $450,000 single family price range.”

In June, the all residential average days-on-market was 53 days, down 1 day from May and up 4 days relative to June 2015. On average, single family detached homes sold in 50 days in June, while condominiums sold in an average of 58 days and duplex/rowhouses sold in 53 days.