According to The Calgary Sun this am home prices in Canada are trending down……this appears to be evident in Victoria BC.
The March 2012 stats from the Victoria Real Estate Board are not yet available today due to a tech glitch but my informal search shows that in the range of 502 properties of all types sold in Victoria during March. This is down from March 2011 when 622 Properties sold. Properties priced over 700,000 are slower to sell. Listings appear to be around the same as last year for this time – over 4,100 properties on the market in all categories (including recreational and commercial).
Buyers are sharpening their pencils and I hope that the trend of sellers realizing that the “glory days” of the last decade continues to manifest itself – sales where there is a clear perception of “value” by the buyers are where it’s at……
Remember the definition of “market value” – willing buyer + willing seller. It’s that simple. Vicky
Rising house price trend slows
CALGARY, AB – Canadian resale house prices increased in February on a year-over-year basis; however, the February-to-February rate of increase is trending lower, suggesting home price growth may be topping out, according to the Canadian Real Estate Assoc.
CREA’s MLS Home Price Index (HPI) in February was up 5.1% from last year, the smallest since last June, marking the fourth consecutive month of slowing gains.
“MLS HPI trends for February show that home price growth is generally slowing,” says Gary Morse, CREA president.
“At the same time, price gains and trends differ among housing markets tracked by the index.” The MLS HPI in Calgary rose 2.5% year over year, the second smallest increase of the major populated areas identified in the CREA report.
The Greater Toronto Area registered the largest increase at 7.3%, followed by Greater Vancouver 6%, the Lower Mainland 5.5%, Fraser Valley 4% and Greater Montreal 2%. The MLS HPI rose 1.1% in February from January 2012.
“The index typically rises in February from the previous month as demand ramps up leading into the spring housing market,” says Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist.
“The monthly price increase in February this year was less than what we saw in either of the past two years, which is more evidence that the trend for Canadian home prices is slowing.”
VICKY
