Shaky days in the housing market

The Globe and Mail- After several months of small pullbacks, the number of houses sold in some of Canada’s largest markets plummeted in July. There are plenty of factors at work – most notably the rush of buyers earlier in the year who wanted to avoid new taxes in B.C. and Ontario – but the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver said July was one of the slowest months for home sales in at least a decade.

As prices moved higher in 2009 and 2010, many Canadians rushed to get their houses on the market. The number of houses listed has peaked just as demand cools. At the end of June, CREA said it would take 6.9 months to sell all the listed homes in Canada given the current rate of sales – the highest level since March 2009. Sellers face a choice. Take their listings down, or settle for less…

Shaky days in the housing market – The Globe and Mail

Real estate sales sag in Greater Victoria

Times Colonist- Home sales cooled and inventory continued to rise last month as some real estate buyers in Greater Victoria chose to take the time to shop around.

A total of 625 homes sold in June through the Victoria Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service. That was down from 695 sales in May and about a third less than the 946 sales in June a year ago.

Meanwhile, for-sale signs continued to sprout as inventory levels rose to 4,730 properties, up 25 per cent from the 3,794 available a year earlier.

Major banks last month inched some mortgage rates down, but the small decreases didn’t create a rush into the market as potential buyers mulled over increasing inventories for better deals. Observers also note waning consumer confidence in the overall economy may be a factor in the softening market…

Real estate sales sag in Greater Victoria

Victoria area real estate still strong in April

Times Colonist- The approach of tougher qualifying rules for mortgages, coupled with increasing interest rates and promises of more hikes to come, buoyed the Victoria housing market again in April, according to the Victoria Real Estate Board.

Statistics released yesterday by the board showed a strong number of sales in April, with buyers getting into the market and keeping sale prices stable.

"I’d say it’s good, and I think what’s happening now is we’re balancing out. It’s becoming a balanced market — we’re still getting multiples [offers], but not as fast and furious as it was a few months ago," said VREB past-president Chris Markham. "We haven’t switched to a buyer’s market, but it has come off being a seller’s market…"

Victoria area real estate still strong in April

Victoria real estate market heats up for spring

Times Colonist- Greater Victoria real estate sales jumped by 45.5 per cent in February from the previous month as buyers blasted back into the market before a rise in borrowing costs and more stringent mortgage rules are imposed.

A total of 621 properties sold through the Multiple Listing Service of the Victoria Real Estate board in February, up from 418 in January.

Last month’s sales increased 54 per cent from February 2009.

"The number for February was quite strong given the Olympic break," Cameron Muir, chief economist for the B.C. Real Estate Association, said from Vancouver yesterday.

Muir figures that the Winter Olympic Games took attention away from real estate sales last month and predicts that March "should be a fairly strong month."

Tighter regulations for borrowers wanting a mortgage backed by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. come into effect April 19. The maximum amount buyers can borrow to refinance mortgages is moving to 90 per cent of the value of the home, from 95 per cent…

Victoria real estate market heats up for spring

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