Home sales activity in Canada came up short of the record for the month of April and new listings continued to climb, according to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).

“Many of the sales that would normally have occurred in May were pulled back to April, due to buyers trying to avoid the May 1st transitional implementation date for the HST, as well as new mortgage regulations that came into effect April 19th,” said Ottawa Real Estate Board President Pierre de Varennes. “Buyers knew they would be paying 8% more for all of the service costs associated with a real estate transaction if their closing date was after July 1st, and that it might be more difficult to qualify for financing, so they moved quickly to avoid either situation. In addition, by comparison May 2009 was a record-breaking month as the floodgates opened on pent-up demand following the brief downturn in the market,” he added.

In general the Canadian real estate market is moving towards a balanced market where inventory is increasing well to meet demand. Buyers, sellers and REALTORS® can all relax and enter a sales transaction without pressure.

The easing trend in national sales activity masks a rising trend in a number of major markets. Real estate is local, so buyers and sellers should engage the services of a REALTOR® for knowledge about housing market trends in their market. For sellers, getting specific advice about home values in their local neighbourhood is crucial in a competitive market.

Ontario – Slower May after record-setting April: could it be the HST?

Toronto, June 3, 2010 – Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 9,470 sales through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in May, representing a 1% dip from May 2009. In comparison to previous years, this was the third highest May sales result on record.

“The pace of transactions slowed in May following record-setting sales in February, March and April,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Tom Lebour. “Buyers who otherwise would have been purchasing a home in May moved more quickly this year, likely to get ahead of mortgage rate hikes.”

New listings were up 38% annually to 18,940. The average price for May transactions was $446,593, up 13% compared to the average of $395,609 recorded in May 2009.

“The gap between listings and sales has widened, which means there is more choice for buyers,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “The annual rate of price growth will slow in the second half of 2010, from the current double digit pace into the single digits.”

Ottawa, June 3, 2010 – Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,694 residential properties in May through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 1,967 in May 2009, a decrease of 13.9%.

Of those sales, 353 were in the condominium property class, while 1,341 were in the residential property class. The condominium property class includes any property, regardless of style (i.e. detached, semi-detached, apartment, stacked, 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.

The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in May in the Ottawa area was $333,408, an increase of 6.9% over May 2009. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $246,116, an increase of 6.4% over May 2009. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $356,387, an increase of 8.3% over May 2009.

Hamilton, June 4, 2010 – The Greater Hamilton-Burlington area resale market reported a total of 1,451 units sold in May, an increase of 8.8% over May of last year, according to the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) statistics released by the REALTORS® Association of Hamilton-Burlington (RAHB).

When compared to April of this year, May’s total unit sales were down 5.5%.

“The market is beginning to settle a bit,” said RAHB President Joe Ferrante. “We saw big highs in both the numbers of listings and sales in March and April, and now we are seeing how things will probably be continuing for the next few months.”

Residential properties sold during May totaled 1,406, which included 1,114 freehold properties and 292 condominiums. Commercial sales for May, including industrial, farm, vacant land and business, totaled 45 units.

The average price of freehold residential properties sold in the month of May was $339,484, an increase of 8.5% over the same month last year and an increase of just under 1% over last month.

In the condominium market, the average price of condominiums in May was $224,707, a decrease of 3% compared to May, 2009 and a decrease of slightly more than 2% from last month. The average sale price reflects the dollar volume of residential sales divided by the number of total residential units sold.

May’s total average residential sale price increased 6% over the same month in 2009. The total number of units listed for sale during May was 2,370, which is almost 33% higher than were listed in the same month in 2009. “This is still a strong market by any measure,” added Ferrante, “and is performing pretty much as we expected.”

Alberta – REALTORS® face relaxed housing market with stable pricing

Edmonton, June 2, 2010 – The housing market was relaxed in May with slightly lower sales than last year and prices generally stable. Despite the sales drop, the current sales figures compare favourably with levels set in 2008.

“Financial incentives, changes to mortgage qualifying rules and the threat of increasing mortgage rates caused the local market to peak a little earlier this year,” said Larry Westergard, president of the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton. “Many buyers exercised their options in April leaving the customer base a little leaner in May.”

Single family residences in the Edmonton area rose in price by less than one percent and sold on average* for $390,583 in May. Condominium prices dipped just 2% to an average of $248,526. Duplex and rowhouse prices of $320,204 were down 2.3% from last month. Overall, the average residential price was up a quarter of a percent to $340,192.

There were 3,670 residential listings in May with residential sales of 1,682 properties resulting in a sales-to-listing ratio of 46%. The average time to sell a home was 44 days (the same as April) and inventory at month end was 8,780 residential units (as compared to 8,056 in April). At current sales levels the inventory will last for over five months.

“Buyers, sellers and REALTORS® can all relax and enter a sales transaction without pressure,” said Westergard. “That does not mean that you can delay making or accepting an attractive offer because 50-60 homes sell each day and you would hate to see your dream home snapped up by someone just a little more eager to live there.” He emphasized that the REALTOR® can be a calming influence in a sale but can also be relied upon to provide expert advice and coaching.

British Columbia – Housing market push and pull: economic growth versus affordability

Vancouver, June 7, 2010 – The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) released its Housing Forecast for the second quarter of 2010 today.

BC Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) residential sales are forecast to ease back 3% from 85,028 units in 2009 to 82,350 units this year, before increasing 4% to 85,900 units in 2011.

“Eroding affordability will trim home sales by 3% this year despite improving economic conditions and related employment growth,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “The push and pull of positive economic growth versus rising mortgage interest rates is expected to keep BC home sales near their 10-year average of 85,569 units both this year and next.”

The average MLS® residential price is forecast to climb 6% to $494,600 this year and remain relatively unchanged in 2011, albeit increasing by 1% to $499,700.

“Strong consumer demand in Vancouver, Victoria and the Fraser Valley was largely responsible for driving the average home price in the province higher over the last three quarters,” added Muir. “However, demand has moderated in those markets and a larger inventory of homes for sale has pulled market conditions into balanced territory, providing less upward pressure on home prices.”

Surrey, June 5, 2010 – Property buyers continued to see an increase in selection while sellers faced more competition as listings grew and sales decreased on Fraser Valley’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in May.

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board posted 1,477 sales in May, a decrease of 2% compared to the 1,501 sales processed on the MLS® during May 2009. At the same time, the Board received 3,457 new listings, taking the number of active listings to 11,411, an increase of 14% compared to the 10,047 listings available during May of last year.

Deanna Horn, president of the Board, puts the numbers into context. “May’s sales were 16% below our ten-year average, 1,760 sales for that month. Considering how busy the market has been in the last decade that represents solid sales activity, slower yes, but steady.

“What’s changed most is the increase in inventory. The last time this many homes were available on Fraser Valley’s MLS® in May was in 1995.” Horn adds, “Tremendous selection allows buyers the luxury to find the right home, comparison shop and gives their REALTORS® the ability to negotiate hard on their behalf.”

In May, the benchmark price for Fraser Valley detached homes was $515,375, a 10.6% increase compared to $465,939 in May 2009. The average number of days to sell a detached home in May was 43 days, one day faster than it was in May of last year.

The benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhouses in May was $328,295, a 10.1% increase compared to $298,308 in May 2009. Townhomes in May sold on average 27 days faster than they did a year ago – 39 days compared to 66 days in 2009.

The benchmark price of apartments increased by 8.6% year-over-year going from $232,170 in May 2009 to $252,221 in May 2010. The average days to sell in May for apartments in the Fraser Valley was 51 compared to 69 days during the same month last year.