The Canadian housing market continues at a healthy and balanced pace. Many areas have registered record sales in April as buyers continued to take advantage of affordable home ownership opportunities.

“This spring market is one of the best we’ve had,” said REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington’s (RAHB) President Joe Ferrante. "The number of residential sales is the highest in any April on record, and we broke last month’s new record for the number of listings taken in a month, ever.”

Demand levels continue to be strong with the number of sales occurring being above long-term historical levels. A rise in the number of new listings coming on to the MLS® System in March and April has added to supply, especially in cities, adding further balance to the market and generally keeping any significant upward pressure on prices in check.

This strong market is expected to last through the spring, but it will probably be at the expense of the second half of the year, when the HST kicks in for Ontario and British Columbia and mortgage rates go up again.
 
Ontario - A Record First Quarter Sales

Toronto, May 5, 2010 – Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 10,898 sales through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in April, representing a 34% increase compared to April 2009. There were also 20,683 new listings in April – a 59% annual increase. Both the sales and new listings results amounted to new records for the month of April under the current Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) boundaries. 

“The GTA resale market is functioning properly. Sales were high as buyers continued to take advantage of affordable home ownership opportunities. Listings grew as home owners reacted to strong sales and price growth,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Tom Lebour. “More balanced market conditions will result in sustainable rates of annual price growth in the second half of 2010.” 

The average price for April transactions was $437,600 – up 13% compared to the average of $385,641 recorded in April 2009. 

“Home sales continue to be driven by many different segments of the market, with sales growth for all major home types in both the City of Toronto and surrounding 905 regions,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “Home sales will remain strong in the second half of 2010, but will slip from the current record pace as borrowing costs rise.”