By Calli Gregg A s average housing prices fall and sales increase, it is simple supply versus demand for the Canadian housing marketing these days and although the market is down as an average in Canada, it really depends on where you are in Canada and what is happening in your market. The Canadian Real Estate Association recently released data showing that the average price of a Canadian home has fallen by 5.5 per cent to $455,000 over the past 12 months, while National Home Sales increases 3.6 percent for the same time period. The Canadian Real Estate Association states the reason behind the slow down in the market is because of new stress-test rules that have been implemented on mortgages, making it harder to get a mortgage, thus less buyers causing a sales slump that persists.
Average falling house prices can be misleading as the typically more expensive markets like Toronto and Vancouver skew the average price higher than it would be otherwise if these markets were not included. So, to better gauge what is happening in your housing market it is better to look at the Home Price Index, which The Canadian Real Estate Asso- ciation calculates by adjusting for the size of differ- ent housing markets and types of homes. In the Greater Vancouver, the Home Price Index has fallen by almost five per cent in the past year, with Calgary, Edmonton, Regina and Saskatoon seeing similar decreases in these markets. However, prices have not dipped in all markets as housing prices have increased by more than nine percent in the past year on Vancouver Island with increases of up to seven percent for the Ottawa, Guelph and the Niagara Region area markets.
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FEBRUARY 2019 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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