A home for sale in the west end of Toronto.KEVIN VAN PAASSEN/The Globe and Mail
The Globe's Real Estate Beat offers news and analysis on the Canadian housing market from real estate reporter Tara Perkins. Read more on The Globe's housing page and follow Tara on Twitter @TaraPerkins.
Canada's housing market is again proving to be hotter than economists expected.
The latest data on sales of existing homes across the country will be released by the Canadian Real Estate Board next week. But a number of local real estate boards have made their statistics available in recent days and the picture they paint is generally one of strength, especially in the highly-populated markets of Toronto and Vancouver.
That comes as the housing market has been gaining steam in the wake of a sluggish winter during which unusually cold weather depressed sales.
The comeback has been strong enough that Toronto-Dominion Bank's economics department upgraded its expectations last week for home sales and prices this year – although it continues to predict that "the Canadian housing market will cool over the medium term."
With five-year mortgage rates at record lows, the number of existing homes that sold in May shot up well above the 10-year average for the month, and "more strength may be bubbling under the surface," TD economist Diana Petramala wrote in a research note.
Indeed, here's a rundown of some of the data from local boards that's already available for June:
Montreal
– Sales of existing homes in the Montreal area were 3 per cent higher than a year earlier. That marks the first year-over-year increase in sales in nine months.
– Sales of single-family homes were up by 2 per cent, while sales of condos were up 8 per cent.
– Sales on the Island of Montreal rose 10 per cent and those on the South Shore were up 2 per cent. Sales in Laval were down 2 per cent, on the North Shore 4 per cent lower, and in Vaudreuil-Soulanges they fell 1 per cent.
– The median price of a single-family home rose 2 per cent to $291,000. That of condos was essentially flat at $234,525.
Toronto
– Sales were up 15.4 per cent from a year earlier. A total of 10,180 homes changed hands over the Multiple Listing Service, well above the 10-year average for the month of 9,295.
– The average selling price rose 7.4 per cent to $568,953.
– The average number of days that a home is on the market before selling dropped to 22 days from 24 a year earlier.
– Active listings fell 6.8 per cent.
Vancouver
– Sales were up 28.9 per cent from a year earlier. They were up 3.7 per cent from May, and came in 0.6 per cent above the 10-year average for the month of June.
– The sales-to-active-listings ratio was 21.3 per cent, the highest level in three years.
– The MLS Home Price Index benchmark price for all types of homes in the Vancouver area was $628,200, up 4.4 per cent from a year earlier.
– The benchmark price of detached homes rose 6.2 per cent to $976,700, while the benchmark price of apartment-style homes increased 2.4 per cent to $378,000 and attached units climbed 3.1 per cent to $471,200.
Calgary
– Sales in the city rose 15.78 per cent to 2,670, a figure that is 18 per cent above the 10-year average.
– The single-family benchmark price was $509,700, up 10.9 per cent from a year earlier. The benchmark price of apartment-style units rose 13.5 per cent to a new high of $299,700.
– The average number of days a home sat on the market before selling in the city in June was 29, down from 35 a year earlier.
– 104 homes sold for $1-million or more, compared to 73 in June of 2013.
Regina
– A total of 358 homes sold in June, down 9 per cent from a year earlier. That compares to a five-year average of 390 and a 10-year average of 364.
– The MLS Home Price Index composite price was $302,700, down 0.9 per cent. The price of apartment or condo style homes rose 2.6 per cent.
– Total dollar volume of sales was $110.2-million, down 10 per cent.
– The average number of days homes were on the market before selling was 37, up from 32 a year earlier.
Ottawa
– Sales were up 4.3 per cent from a year earlier, with 1,661 homes changing hands over the Multiple Listing Service. The five-year average for June is 1,636.
– A total of 316 condominium-style properties sold, and 1,345 homes in the real estate board's residential property class.
– The average sale price of all types of homes in the Ottawa area was $364,264, up 1.4 per cent from a year earlier.
– The average sales price for condos was $258,135, a decrease of 2.8 per cent from a year earlier. The average sales price of other homes was $389,198, up 1.8 per cent from a year earlier.
Edmonton
– Sales were up 3.5 per cent from a year earlier.
– The average selling price was $371,839, which was up 3.9 per cent from a year earlier. The median selling price was $359,000, up 6.4 per cent.
– The average price of a single-family detached home was $435,534, up 5.8 per cent from a year earlier. The average price of a condominium was $254,182, down 1.6 per cent from a year earlier.
– Inventory declined by 6.2 per cent from a year earlier, but was up 1.2 per cent from the prior month.