We know you’re busy, so here’s your weekly cheat sheet on this week’s most important real estate stories.
Canadian Real Estate
Here’s Canada’s Hottest (And Coldest) Major Real Estate Markets
Last year was a smoking hot year for many Canadian real estate markets, but not all were so lucky. Toronto, and Vancouver saw sales decline 18.1% and 10.5%, respectively. Montreal, the second largest market by sales, saw sales increase by 7.6% on the other hand. Click through to find out how this impacted inventory levels in 2017.
Canadian Interest Rates Were Raised On Junk Employment Data
Canadian interest rates are climbing higher, but what does that mean for real estate? Since the cost of borrowing will rise, ideally the health of the job market would offset the reduced buying power. However, we might have less reason to be optimistic about the job numbers we heard last week.
Most outlets published Statistics Canada’s seasonally adjusted numbers, which show Canada gained 79,000 jobs in December. Unadjusted, that data shows that 6,700 jobs were lost during that same month. Adjusted data makes charts prettier, but the fact of the matter is we have substantially less people working than we expected. This can be even more complicated, when you look at ADP’s data as well.
ADP uses Stats Can’s data, then adds the data they collect on top. ADP collects around 40x more data than Stats Can does. ADP believes that employment in the country is about 13% lower than Stats Can claims. Is the government wrong about 6% of the population working? If so, the rate hike could have a stronger than expected impact to the economy.
Teranet: Montreal And Toronto Real Estate Prices Drop, Vancouver Soars
The Teranet-National Bank home price index stopped it’s national decline, but some cities aren’t doing so hot. Toronto, and Montreal are seeing gains of 9.02% and 7.05% respectively. These are solid gains, but they’re behind the national average of 9.07%. Vancouver on the other hand, is soaring 15.97% higher, demolishing the national average. The country’s least affordable market just keeps climbing.
FOMO Sends Canadian Real Estate Sales To Record High
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reported a record number of sales in December. CREA posted 45,976 sales in December, a 5.74% increase from the year before. The exact reason for the spike is unclear, but agents have been claiming buyers were trying to get in before the B-20 regulations go into effect. Buyers apparently rushed to buy before the maximum amount Canadians can borrow from regulated banks took a sharp decline.
Toronto Real Estate
Toronto Detached Real Estate Inventory Rises Over 230%
Detached homes in Greater Toronto logged another bad report, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB). The benchmark price of a detached home is now $909,300, just 2.33% higher than the same time last year. Sales have declined by 13.6%, and active listings have increased by 237%. More inventory and less sales, probably means you won’t see soaring prices anytime soon.
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Hopefully, the market will moderate and return to healthiness. Those hoping for a return of the speculative chaos that was recorded in early 2017 are obviously shortsighted, selfish and just in it for themselves.
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