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National MLS® resale housing activity declined in February 2008 compared to levels recorded one month earlier, according to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
Seasonally adjusted MLS® sales activity eased 5.6 per cent month-over-month to 38,365 units in February 2008. Over half of the monthly decline resulted from fewer sales in Toronto.
“The buying activity peaked in Toronto in December, before Toronto’s land transfer tax went into effect, and before the record-breaking winter storm activity” says CREA President Ann Bosley. “The culminating effect is that 53 per cent of the national month-to-month decline in MLS® sales in February is represented by the decline in sales in Toronto.”
On average, 18 per cent of national MLS® monthly resale residential activity is generated in the Toronto area.
Seasonally adjusted activity also softened on a month-over-month basis in British Columbia and Alberta. In contrast, seasonally adjusted resale housing activity reached the second highest monthly level ever in Saskatchewan in February and posted its third highest level in Prince Edward Island. In Saskatchewan and Newfoundland & Labrador, sales in the first two months of 2008 are running ahead of transactions over the same period in any other year.
MLS® seasonally adjusted residential new listings declined 2.8 per cent in February compared to the peak reached the previous month, to stand at the second highest level on record.
Seasonally adjusted new listings surged to new heights in Saskatchewan and Newfoundland & Labrador in February. Monthly increases in these provinces were more than offset by a monthly decline in new listings in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. Although down from their peak in January, seasonally adjusted new residential listings posted their second highest levels ever in British Columbia and Alberta.
The MLS® resale housing market was tightest in Manitoba this February. Markets in Saskatchewan and Newfoundland & Labrador, which had been the tightest in the country in January, became significantly more balanced in February due to a combination of fewer sales and surging new listings.
A more balanced market resulted in smaller price gains on a national basis and in many provinces. The national MLS® residential average price climbed 6.2 per cent year-over-year to $313,065 in February 2008. This is the smallest year-over-year price increase since November 2004.
The MLS® average price climbed to its highest level on record in British Columbia and Saskatchewan, and stood just slightly below record levels in Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
In February 2008 seasonally adjusted MLS® residential dollar volume edged down 7.1 per cent compared to January, reaching $12.0 billion. Dollar volume posted the second highest level on record in Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island, and reached its third highest level in New Brunswick.
“Market balance for resale housing is evolving differently among provinces,” said CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump. “British Columbia and Alberta are quickly becoming more balanced as higher prices pinch sales activity and new listings rise. Other provinces are also following suit. By contrast, the resale housing markets in Saskatchewan and Manitoba remain very tight, and negotiations there highly favour the seller. For that reason, price increases are forecast to be biggest in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.” (CREA 01/04/08)
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