Canadian Housing Boom Over?
May 28, 2008
“The Canadian housing boom was declared officially over”
The Financial Post reported on Thursday, April 17, 2008:
“Canada’s six-year housing market boom is officially over,” said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets. Average prices rose just 5.5% to $327,620 in the first quarter over the first quarter of 2007, the smallest price increase since the fourth quarter of 2001. Employment, the key driver of housing sales, is still strong and Canada did not indulge in nearly the same amount of high-risk sub-prime mortgage lending as the United States. Read more
Canada’s housing market cools in April
May 24, 2008
A Canwest News Service report by John Morrissy,Published: Thursday, May 08, 2008
OTTAWA - Canada’s housing market showed further signs of slipping as the pace of new-home construction eased last month, dropping by a greater-than-expected 12 per cent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 213,900, the federal housing agency reported Thursday.
“Housing starts in April moderated from the high levels posted in February and March,” said Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. chief economist Bob Dugan.
Richmond Housing Report - April 2008
May 17, 2008
List Vs Sold Homes - April, 2008
Source: RealtyLink Online, Listings versus Sales
Housing Type Active Listings Apr. Sold Listings Av. 3 Month sales No. Months Average Price Detached 670 173 154 4.35 $800,000 Townhouse 350 112 108 3.24 $470,000 Condominiums 810 179 160 5.06 $340,000
Market Action> Absorption below 6 months > Sellers Market > Price Trend - Up
The Richmond housing market remained active and bullish for April 2008. The overall demand for townhouses for the month in Richmond remained strong. There was a steady build-up in listings and the most noticeable increase in Richmond’s Condo listings. The Absorption Rate for all housing types climbed slightly from 4.29 months in February to 4.30 months in March, and now to around 4.33 months in April. This was still below the 6 months inventory level for any pricing pressure on the home sellers.
In the Fraser Valley area, inventory of home listed for sale was reported to be at around 6 months. The media had been reporting the cooling down in the real estate market over the past weeks. An excellent listings versus sales tracking report by Paul Boenisch at Prudential Sussex Realty was showing a significant build-up in Richmond’s housing inventory for April, 2008.
If listings continue to increase faster than sales in the next few months, Richmond will follow other areas to see some moderation in sales. Price gain so far remains positive and the housing market is expected to bullish. A more balanced market is expected as the housing frenzy over the past few years disappears.
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Richmond Monthly Sales Summary
May 17, 2008
Richmond Monthly Sales And Median Home Prices
The following table summarized the median home prices and total unit sales for detached-single family homes, townhouses and condos in Richmond since October 2007:
Month Detached-SFH Townhouses Condos Total Nov/09
(units)$753,500
(152)$467,200
(99)$318,000
(189)(440) Oct/09
(units)$753,000
(185)$444,100
(137)$313,000
(222)(544) Sep/09
(units)$686,250
(192)$460,000
(148)$318,400
(230)(570) Aug/09
(units)$720,000
(170)$467,000
(126)$315,000
(183)(479) Jul/09
(units)$690,000
(221)$438,000
(179)$325,500
(230)(630) Jun/09
(units)$688,000
(204)$432,000
(155)$298,000
(225)(584) May/09
(units)$644,495
(170)$425,000
(127)$305,500
(200)(497) Apr/09
(units)$660,000
(135)$422,000
(132)$285,000
(162)(429) Mar/09
(units)$660,000
(118)$402,800
(89)$283,500
(130)(337) Feb/09
(units)$629,000
(69)$400,000
(47)$282,000
(83)(199) Jan/09
(units)$648,500
(30)N/A
(13)$248,000
(56)(99) Dec/08
(units)$666,500
(38)$424,000
(26)$278,000
(56)(120) Nov/08
(units)$620,000
(27)$385,000
(23)$283,750
(34)(84) Oct/08
(units)$684,000
(49)$420,000
(34)$253,750
(91)(174) Sep/08
(units)$691,000
(59)$441,800
(41)$332,500
(134)(234) Aug /08
(units)$678,500
(49)$488,500
(37)$312,000
(92)(178) Jul /08
(units)$720,250
(71)$449,000
(107)$290,000
(124)(287) Jun/08
(units)$749,400
(115)$464,450
(118)$303,150
(157)(345) May/08
(units)$743.000
(149)$473,000
(118)$325,000
(157)(424) Apr/08
(units)$705,500
(173)$470,000
(112)$320,000
(179)(464) Mar/08
(units)$711,000
(161)$454,400
(109)$332,500
(157)(427) Feb/08
(units)$733,000
(130)$450,000
(104)$337,500
(144)(378) Jan/08
(units)$666,000
(80)$452,500
(70)$310,420
(121)(271) Dec/07
(units)$685,000
(107)$450,500
(52)$296,000
(118)(277) Nov/07
(units)$669,000
(108)$452,000
(107)$297,000
(159)(374) Oct/07
(units)$700,000
(136)$436,000
(105)$296,500
(173)(416) For a better prospective view on the general pricing trend for Vancouver, you can refer to Brian Ripley’s pricing charts here.
For more information on the real estate market in Greater Vancouver, and Richmond Vancouver and Burnaby in particular, you can follow my blog postings here.
