National resale housing market activity returned to pre-recession levels in May 2009. The rebound in activity is being led by an increase in transactions in some of the most expensive markets in the country, which is skewing the national average price upward.

According to statistics released by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), actual home sales via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) of Canadian real estate boards totalled 49,521 units in May 2009. This is less than 1% below activity in the same month one year ago. Year-over-year declines have been shrinking since the beginning of the year.

“This is the third consecutive record setting month this year and the fourth month where sales exceeded the previous year’s sales,” said Ottawa Board President Rick Snell. “Year-to-date sales as of the end of June are up 1% over the same time period in 2008. We have seen a strong recovery from the slow start to this year,” he added.

The combination of historically low interest rates and sellers reducing their asking prices has created greater affordability,” Fraser Valley Real Estate Board President Paul Penner said. Buyers are looking at monthly mortgage costs that are 20-25% less than they were a year ago. That translates into hundreds of dollars a month in savings.

A recent market poll confirms that first-time homebuyers and people “buying-up” are taking advantage of the current market conditions. Results show that 32% of buyers were first-time homebuyers and 22% were buyers moving from an apartment or townhouse to a detached house.

“The re-emergence of seller’s market conditions has exerted upward pressure on home prices,” explained Jason Mercer, Toronto Real Estate Board’s (TREB) Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “Look for sales to remain high relative to listings in the second half of the year. This will keep home prices growing.”

Below is a brief summary of sales activities in some areas across the country:

Ontario - GTA resale housing market posts best June on record

Toronto, July 6, 2009 – In June 2009, Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported a record 10,955 sales, up 27% from June 2008. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales in June was 100,700.

“The record result in June is testament to the fundamentally sound housing market in the GTA,” said TREB President Tom Lebour. “An increasing number of households have been confident in purchasing a home in the region’s affordable and diverse resale housing market.”

The average price for June transactions was $403,972—up by 2% compared to the same month last year.

Ottawa - Resale housing sales have another record month in June

Ottawa, July 6, 2009 – Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,895 residential properties in June through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,685 in June 2008. This is an increase of 12.5%. Listing inventory is at a very low level, which has led to competitive bidding on many properties.

Of those sales, 418 were in the condominium property class, while 1,477 were in the residential property class.

“This is the third consecutive record setting month this year and the fourth month where sales exceeded the previous year’s sales,” said Ottawa Board President Rick Snell. “Year-to-date sales as of the end of June are up 1% over the same time period in 2008. We have seen a strong recovery from the slow start to this year,” he added.

The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in June in the Ottawa area was $306,924, an increase of 3% over June 2008. The average sale price for a condominium property class was $236,830, an increase of 8.3% over June 2008. The average sale price of a residential property class was $326,761, an increase of 2.5% over June 2008.

British Columbia - Fraser Valley home buyers take advantage of greater affordability

Surrey, July 3, 2009 – Crediting low interest rates and reductions in house prices, Fraser Valley REALTORS® had their fourth busiest June on record. 1,982 sales were processed in June, an increase of 40% compared to the 1,418 sales in June 2008 and 32% higher than sales in May 2009. June’s numbers were comparable to sales achieved during the same month in 2006 and 2007 during the strongest real estate cycle in the Lower Mainland’s history.

The Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark of a detached home in June was $471,788, a decrease of 8% compared to June 2008 when it was $512,850 and a 1.3% increase compared to May 2009 when it was $465,939.

The HPI benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhouses decreased 10.1% from $335,090 in June 2008 to $301,103 in June 2009, and increased 0.9% compared to May 2009 when it was $298,308. The benchmark price of apartments also decreased year-over-year by 9.6%, going from $255,670 in June of last year to $231,014 in June 2009, and decreased 0.5% compared to $232,170 in May 2009.

Alberta - Gradual and steady improvement in home values

Calgary, July 2, 2009 – The number of single family homes and condos sold in June in Calgary metro are both up from the same time a year ago. MLS® sales activity of single family Calgary metro homes was 1,837 in the month of June 2009, showing an increase of 16% from 1,584 sales in May 2009, according to figures released by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®).
This is the sixth consecutive month home sales have increased in Calgary metro. This was an increase of 28% from June 2008, when single family home sales were 1,439. The number of condominium sales for the month of June 2009 was 738, an increase of 13% from the 653 condominium transactions recorded in May 2009, and an increase of 33% from June 2008, when 556 condominiums changed hands.

“A rise in demand along with fewer listings has helped bring supply in balance with demand,” says Bonnie Wegerich, President of the Calgary Real Estate Board. “Affordable prices, low interest rates and pent-up demand continue, to fuel this gradual rebound. Should this trend continue, I think we can confidently say the bottom of the market has come and gone before many buyers had a chance to notice.”

The average price of a single family Calgary metro home in June 2009 was $447,142, showing an increase of 2% from May 2009, when the average price was $436,427, and showing a decrease of 6% from June 2008, when the average price was $473,774. The average price of a Calgary metro condominium was $285,595 showing a 4% increase from May 2009, when the average price was $275,212 and a decrease of 9% over last year, when the average price was $315,042.