Home sales rebound in October

CREB® points to mortgage rule changes as motivator

For the first time in two years, resale residential housing sales activity in October resembled normal levels, according to a new report.

City-wide sales totaled 1,644 units, which is an increase of nearly 16 per cent over last year, reported CREB® in its monthly housing summary.

"The shift in sales activity this month is likely related to the new mortgage rule changes, inventory gains in the lower price ranges and further price adjustments," said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.

"The combination of all these factors may have encouraged some purchases to take advantage of the market conditions, particularly in the lower price ranges. However, with several factors at play, the monthly shift in demand may be temporary and will need to be monitored over the next several months."

Sales activity rose across all product types in comparison to last year, but the largest gain in sales occurred in the detached sector at 18 per cent, said CREB®.

The organization also noted there was a noticeable shift in sales activity by price range in October. In the detached market, homes priced between $300,000 and $400,000 saw the largest improvement in sales, while attached and apartment sales growth was mainly occurring in the lower price ranges.

"Sales activity changed direction in October, but we need to see some consistency next month and the month after to call it a trend."

"This year has been a challenge for many sellers," said CREB® president Cliff Stevenson. "So when we have a rise in sales, it means more buyers got into the market and more sellers got out, which is a positive for consumers on both sides of the transaction."

"Sales activity changed direction in October, but we need to see some consistency next month and the month after to call it a trend," adds Stevenson. "For now it's a nice building block."

Despite the monthly rise, year-to-date sales activity in all sectors remained lower than last year's levels and well below longer term trends. In fact, year-to-date sales activity has totaled 15,642 units, which is 6.3 per cent below last year's levels, noted CREB®.

While increased activity in the lower price ranges had a greater impact on the average and median price, benchmark prices once again edged down in October. The city-wide unadjusted benchmark price totaled $438,900, or 0.34 per cent below last month and four per cent below last year's levels.

Since the start of the downturn, home prices have declined from a low of 3.8 per cent in the detached market to a high of 9.4 per cent in the apartment condominium sector. And, despite the rise in October sales, monthly prices continued to decline for most product types in the market.