Major Cities Report
Victoria
Another Busy Month for the Victoria Real Estate Market
A total of 734 properties sold in the Victoria region this March, a 27.7% increase compared to the 575 properties sold in the same month last year. There were 3,769 active listings for sale on the Multiple Listing Service® at the end of March, 6.9% fewer than the 4,050 active listings in March 2014. The Multiple Listing Service® Home Price Index benchmark value for a single family home in the Victoria Core this time last year was $560,500. The benchmark value for the same home this month has increased by 1.64% to $569,700.
Vancouver
Demand continued to rise across Metro Vancouver’s housing market in March.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 4,060 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in March 2015. This represents a 53.7 per cent increase compared to the 2,641 sales recorded in March 2014, and a 32.6 per cent increase compared to the 3,061 sales in February 2015. Last month’s sales were 26.8 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month. The sales-to-active-listings ratio in March was 32.8 per cent. This is the highest that this ratio has been in Metro Vancouver since July 2007. Sales of detached properties in March 2015 reached 1,711, an increase of 53.3 per cent from the 1,116 detached sales recorded in March 2014, and an 83.4 per cent increase from the 933 units sold in March 2013. The benchmark price for a detached property in Metro Vancouver increased 11.2 per cent from March 2014 to $1,052,800.
Calgary
Inventory Gains Influence Housing Prices
Elevated inventory levels and low sales for three consecutive months caused unadjusted benchmark prices to ease by 0.44% in March, relative to the previous month, for a total of $454,300. Based on first quarter statistics, conditions are consistent with buyers’ market conditions.
Typical home prices have declined by 0.59% in the first quarter of 2015, compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. The months of supply averaged 4.01 for the quarter. This is a significant change from one year ago when the market was facing inventory shortages and price gains.
The recent price adjustments have not eroded all the higher than expected price gains recorded last year. Sales activity fell by nearly 30% in March, compared to this time last year, and remains well below 10-year averages. City of Calgary sales totaled 3,878 units at the end of the first quarter
Edmonton
Edmonton and Area Average Price Still Up
Despite a decline in all residential sales over those reported in March of 2014, last month saw continued growth of residential prices for the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area CMA of 3%. The average sales price of a single family home was $438,880 – up 1.5% y/y; condo was $249,841 – up 1.2% y/y; and duplex/rowhouse was $354,022 – up 6.9% y/y.
Sales are down in all categories except duplex/rowhouse which are up over 6%. Single family sales were 876 down 4.5% over last March (917 reported). 416 condos sold last month compared to 474 in March 2014. All residential sales for March were reported as 1,453, down 6.5% from 1,554 reported last year. March 2014 had 14 million-dollar plus sales (30 YTD), March 2015 had 8 million dollar plus sales (19 YTD)Residential listings are up over 31% from last March with 3,152 new listings coming on to the MLS® System in the Edmonton CMA. That left us with an ample inventory of 5,944 properties for sale.
Rural areas seem to be seeing the same trends with total rural sales down 8% from 156 reported in March 2014 to 143 reported this year.
Toronto
Sales and Price Up Year-Over-Year in March 2015
Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 8,940 sales in March 2015. This result represented an 11 per cent increase compared to March 2014. Sales were up for most major home types, both in the City of Toronto and the surrounding regions. New listings were also up, but by a lesser 5.5 per cent, indicating tighter market conditions. In March, the average selling price for all reported transactions was $613,933 – up 10 per cent year-over-year. Buyers become increasingly desperate to get into the detached market, particularly in the City of Toronto, they are inadvertently driving up the price. In Toronto the average price of a single-family home rose almost 16 per cent from the year-ago period to just over the $million mark. |
