Author: Kirsten Mason
BC Home Sales Surge Higher in June 2014, BC Real Estate Association
BC Home Sales Surge Higher in June 2014, BC Real Estate Association. Vancouver, BC – July 16, 2014. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 8,989 residential sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in June, up 24.9 per cent from June 2013. Total sales dollar volume was $5 billion, an increase of 30.5 per cent compared to a year ago. The average MLS® residential price in the province rose to $556,977, up 4.5 per cent from the same month last year.
“Home sales finished the second quarter on an upward trend,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “The increase in provincial housing demand was broad-based, with the largest year-over-year increases occurring in the Okanagan, the Kootenays and Chilliwack.”
Home sales climbed 46 per cent in the South Okanagan and nearly 30 per cent in the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board area. In addition, home sales rose 36 per cent in the Kootenays and 33 per cent in Chilliwack compared to the same month last year.
“Market conditions also continued to improve, with the Okanagan and the Lower Mainland even flirting with sellers’ market conditions,” added Muir.
During the half of the year, BC’s residential sales dollar volume was up nearly 26.8 per cent to $23.8 billion, compared to the same period last year. Residential unit sales were up 18.5 per cent to 41,883 units, while the average MLS® residential price was up 7 per cent at $568,499.
Canada Housing Starts Top Expectations; Canada Housing Starts Came in at 198,185 Annual Rate In June 2014
Canada Housing Starts Top Expectations; Canada Housing Starts Came in at 198,185 Annual Rate In June 2014. This article appeared on the Wall Street Journal and was written by Don Curren.
Canadian housing starts advanced 0.6% in June from May to an annualized rate of 198,185 units, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Wednesday.
The results exceeded economists’ expectations, which were for annualized starts of about 190,000 units, according to CIBC World Markets. It said June marked the third straight month of housing starts close to 200,000 units, going “against the conventional reasoning that 2014 would bring with it the expected slowdown in the Canadian housing boom.”
Some analysts are still worried Canada’s housing market could suffer a sharp correction. Sustained strength in housing starts isn’t all positive from that point of view, because it suggests the market is not yet cooling down.
“The resiliency of the Canadian housing market has surprised expectations for a transition to lower, more sustainable levels and the latest monthly reading is no exception,” said a report from Royal Bank of Canada.
It said the recent outperformance of Canadian building permits and the persistence of low mortgage rates provide upside risk for new housing demand to remain elevated in the near term.
The recovery from earlier harsh weather distortions is expected to give way to levels of home-building activity that are closer in line with household formation in the coming months, RBC said.
“We remain of the view that recent robust levels of housing starts are unlikely to be maintained over the second half of the year and into 2015,” it added.
Last month’s results brought the six-month trend in housing starts to almost 186,000 units from slightly more than 184,000 units in May, CMHC said in Wednesday’s release.
In June, urban starts rose to 181,979 units, reflecting a decline in multiple starts but an increase in single-detached starts. Urban starts were up in Atlantic Canada and the Prairies but down in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia, CMHC said.
National Bank Financial said the fact that June housing starts were tilted towards single-detached homes is encouraging news because it suggests a stabilization in the multiple sector–mainly condominiums– after earlier overbuilding in that category.
National Bank said single-detached units contribute more to economic growth than multiples, which bodes well for housing’s contribution to economic growth in the second quarter.
Kamloops District Real Estate Associations Statistics For June and Second Quarter 2014
Kamloops District Real Estate Associations Statistics For June and Second Quarter 2014. Click image to enlarge.
Kamloops Real Estate Comparative analysis by property type June 2014
Kamloops Real Estate MLS Activity June 2014
Kamloops Real Estate Sales by subarea June 2014
Kamloops Real Estate Sales by subarea Second 2nd Quarter 2014