2009-6
18

Canada’s housing market shows more recovery signs: CREA (Job Offer Canada)

Category: Affordable Housing, CMHC, Highrise Buildings, Housing Starts, Residential, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CEO Canadian Funding Corp.

As Canada’s housing market showed more signs of a rebound in May, Canadian Funding Corp. noted that the national average residential price reached its highest monthly level on record. This development was released by Canada Real Estate Association on Monday.

Driven by price gains in some of the most expensive markets in the country, the national average resale price rose to $319,757, up 0.4 per cent from the previous record set in May 2008.

CREA said that over the past four months, the national residential average price has recovered 16.4 per cent from the low in January.

New record high prices were also seen in Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.

“Fueled by a string of monthly increases in activity, the number of transactions in May reached the highest point since July 2008,” said CREA chief economist Gregory Klump.

“Inventory levels are still high in many markets, but fewer new listings and rising sales activity suggests that the selection of homes available for sale may shrink as the year progresses,” Klump said.

The supply of homes up for sale needs to be drawn down further before average price increases become more widespread among local markets.”

On a seasonally adjusted basis, home sales rose eight per cent to 37,649 units in May from April.

“This marks the fourth consecutive monthly increase in seasonally adjusted activity,” CREA said. “Seasonally adjusted activity in May was 43 per cent above where it stood in January 2009.”

BMO Capital Markets economist Douglas Porter said low borrowing costs, more affordable prices in many markets and some pent-up demand after the slow fall and winter period have given support to the market.

“However, even with these positives, further gains will be much tougher to come by, especially with employment continuing to sag,” Porter said. “The housing market is not about to go off to the races, even if it has been pulled back from the brink.”

Source: www.cbc.ca

2009-6
17

Keep Things Simple and Conservative in 2009

Category: Affordable Housing, CMHC, Highrise Buildings, Housing Starts, Residential, Uncategorized | Comments Off

“Sales in March increased at a rate over and above what would be expected from the normal spring time bump,” said Jason Mercer, the Toronto Real Estate Board’s analyst. “A greater number of households have taken advantage of increased affordability in the housing marketplace.” The Toronto Star, April 6/09

“In fact, over the past two months, the situation in the housing market has improved.” Said TREB President Maureen O’Neill.

One Toronto Realtor who believes in the value of the real estate investment was recently quoted in the Vancouver Sun: If your job prospects are good, he said, “Relax, take a breath, be smart. If you don’t need that big flat screen TV, don’t buy it. But if you need a place to live, prices are down a bit, mortgage rates are stupidly low. It’s not a bad time [to buy].”

Bill Bobyk, general manager of the Sterling Group of Companies, says there are two basic reasons people should be buying: “Very good” prices and attractive mortgage rates.

Royal LePage Real Estate Services President Phil Soper appeared on Canada A.M. this morning and said the current data shows the hottest housing market to be in St. John’s, where prices for standard two-storey homes rose 15 per cent year over year.

In Ontario and Quebec, Royal LePage said the markets “held steady” with some small gains and declines. But overall, Ontario typically saw “mid to low single digit declines” in its housing prices, their recent survey said.

The survey said that Western provinces saw “significant changes” in real estate prices, with double-digit declines in many areas. Manitoba was the lone major exception to this trend.

The same survey predicted that B.C. and Alberta may be among the first areas in Canada to see pricing gains because those provinces experienced market corrections prior to the brunt of the economic crisis.

“There is a remarkable uptick in March in buying activity…” said Soper.

Still hearing doom and gloom? The most recent gloomy predictions may be based on factual information- but may be being confused by the commercial sector rumblings.

David Henry, president of U.S.-based Kimco Realty Corp., said Tuesday that it’s big commercial real estate that is in for “a very bad year”. “We have a massive wave of debt maturities coming, at least in the U.S.,” Henry said during a panel discussion at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce’s on North American real estate equities annual conference. However, panel members said there is some reason for optimism, in Canada.

Tom Farley, president and chief executive of Brookfield Properties Corp. (TSX:BPO), said deleveraging is a “brutal” problem in the U.S. but isn’t a serious issue in Canada. Farley said that Canada’s real estate fundamentals are stronger than in the U.S., and Brookfield has a 99 per cent occupancy rate in its Canadian properties, which include First Canadian Place in downtown Toronto.

Both Kimco and Cadillac Fairview agreed that their Canadian portfolios are holding up better than any of their other properties.

Everyone involved in real property transactions is being more careful today- this includes Buyers, Sellers, Lenders and Insurers, too.

Chris Gleason, the Managing Director of a California-based real estate opportunity fund has offered this Golden Rule for ’09 :

“There are far too many opportunities out there this year. Don’t even think about taking on unnecessary risk. Even if you only go after the best deals, you’ll have plenty to feast on and you won’t suffer any losses that could have easily been avoided. Make sure that you’re in love with an investment before you make any commitments, and leave the so-so deals for novice investors to pick up. You’ll be much better off for it in the long run.”

And I would add: Even in a Buyer’s Market, nobody buys for the sake of buying. Smart investors look for a property that fits their lifestyle as well as future needs.
reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

http://blog.getrealinontario.com/index.php/2009/04/08/keep_things_simple_and_conservative_in_2009

2009-6
17

Moishe Alexander reports: Buyer activity brings greater stability to the housing market

Category: Affordable Housing, CMHC, Highrise Buildings, Housing Starts, Residential, Uncategorized | Comments Off

VANCOUVER, B.C. – May 4, 2009 – With more buyers and fewer homes for sale in recent months, the Greater Vancouver housing market has entered a more moderate and balanced state.

For the sixth consecutive month, new listings for detached, attached and apartment properties declined in Greater Vancouver, down 33.7 per cent to 4,649 in April 2009 compared to April 2008, when 7,010 new units were listed. The total number of property listings on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®), while slightly down compared to last month, remains unchanged compared to the same period in 2008.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 2,963 in April 2009, a decline of eight per cent from the 3,218 sales recorded in April 2008, and an increase of 31 per cent compared to last month.

“We’re seeing greater balance in the housing market, as evidenced by a strong sales to active listings ratio of over 19 per cent,” Scott Russell, REBGV president said. “The result is a relatively stable market in which homes are being realistically priced.

“The bridge between buyer demand and housing supply is continuing to narrow, which, as we see, helps bring stability to home prices,” he said. “The trends in our housing market over the last couple of months offer a much more comfortable, historically normal set of conditions.”

Sales of detached properties declined eight per cent to 1,190 from the 1,293 detached sales recorded during the same period in 2008. The benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for detached properties declined 12.2 per cent from April 2008 to $675,268.

Sales of apartment properties in April 2009 declined 10.5 per cent to 1,179, compared to 1,317 sales in April 2008. The benchmark price of an apartment property declined 12.6 per cent from April 2008 to $340,203.

Attached property sales in April 2009 are down 2.3 per cent to 594, compared with the 608 sales in April 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit decreased 9.7 per cent between April 2008 and 2009 to $431,759.

Bright spots in Greater Vancouver in April 2009 compared to April 2008:

Detached:

Vancouver West up 59.5 per cent (193 units sold from 121)

Attached:

Port Coquitlam up 69.6 per cent (39 units sold from 23)

Richmond up 17.9 per cent (132 units sold from 112)

Vancouver West up 46.3 per cent (98 units sold from 67)

Apartments:

North Vancouver up 29.2 per cent (84 units sold from 65)

http://www.garygao.ca/buyer-activity-brings-greater-stability-to-the-housing-market-vancouver-bc-%E2%80%93-may-4-2009-%E2%80%93-with-more-buyers-and-fewer-homes-for-sale-in-recent-months-the-greater-vancouver/