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Canadian real estate sales break $10 billion mark
Activity via MLS continues upward trend in May
New records for Canada's resale housing activity via the Multiple Listing Service were set in May 2005, according to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association. Both seasonally adjusted and unadjusted dollar volume surpassed the $10 billion mark in May ($10.029 billion) – the highest level for any month on record and the first time seasonally adjusted dollar volume has entered double-digit territory.
"For the first time in history, the value of resale housing transactions in Canada topped $10 billion," said CREA's Chief Economist Gregory Klump. "Additional cuts to mortgage interest rates in June will further stimulate the housing market, and keep dollar volumes and average prices for resale housing on track to set new annual records this year."
Seasonally adjusted dollar volume rose 2.6 percent nationally compared to April 2005 levels. Dollar volume records for any month were set in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, and reached its highest ever level for the month of May in all other provinces.
National sales activity edged higher from the previous month and reached the highest seasonally adjusted monthly level since April of last year. A total of 40,268 units were sold through MLS in May – an increase of 0.2 percent compared to April. Activity was virtually unchanged from last month in Ontario and Quebec, while a decline in monthly sales from their highest level ever in Alberta was more than offset by higher activity in all other provinces.
For the month of May, sales activity shattered all previous records on a national basis, and in Alberta, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, new residential listings on MLS receded by 2.1 percent from a 14-year high in April to 64,113 units in May. The slight monthly increase in sales and a decline in new listings caused the national market for existing homes to tighten in May. The national MLS residential average price set a new all-time monthly record, rising 9.3 percent year-over-year to $251,567 in May. This represents the strongest gain in average price this year. Average price also reached its highest monthly level on record in all provinces except Alberta, Quebec and Newfoundland.
The Canadian Real Estate Association is one of Canada's largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 76,000 Realtors working through 102 real estate boards, 10 provincial associations, and one territorial association.
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