The Canadian housing market saw more sales this July than any month in the past 40 years, with 30 per cent more homeowners closing on properties compared to this time last year.
The Canadian Real Estate Association said Monday that the 62,355 sales in July 2020 marked the highest monthly sales figure on record, with data going back more than 40 years.
Sales in July were up 30.5 per cent compared with the same month a year ago and up 26 per cent from June, rebounding from lows of earlier this year when the COVID-19 pandemic froze the market.
CREA Senior Economist Shaun Cathcart said there was more than one driving force behind July91裸聊视频檚 full-tilt housing market, citing both COVID-19 and existing issues heading into 2020.
91裸聊视频淎 big part of what we91裸聊视频檙e seeing right now is the snap back in activity that would have otherwise happened earlier this year,91裸聊视频� Cathcart said.
91裸聊视频淩ecall that before the lockdowns, we were heading into the tightest spring market in almost 20 years.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淪ome purchases will no doubt be delayed, but the new-found importance of home, lack of a daily commute for many, a desire for more outdoor and personal space, room for a home office, etc. will certainly also spur activity that otherwise would not have happened in a non-COVID-19 world.91裸聊视频�
CREA says the actual national average price for homes sold in July was a record $571,500, up 14.3 per cent from the same month last year.
The uptick in prices was broad-based, with all 20 of the markets tracked by CREA reporting month-over-month increases in July.
The Toronto area, Guelph, Ottawa and Montreal saw the biggest price spikes, with prices climbing faster in most markets east of Saskatchewan. Prices rose more modestly in British Columbia and Alberta, CREA said.
In July, demand outpaced supply, as sales increased faster than new properties could be listed. Although new listings hit a record for the month of July, as the number of newly listed homes climbed by 7.6 per cent in July compared with June, it came amid a 26 per cent jump in sales.
Cathcart said in a statement that despite the surge in new listings hitting the market, the total number of listings that lingered on the market as inventory was at a 16-year low.
CREA91裸聊视频檚 statement also suggested that new supply appears to be 91裸聊视频渢apering off in many parts of the country,91裸聊视频� with the Toronto area dominating new listings. The 91裸聊视频渟ales-to-new listings91裸聊视频� ratio in July was at its highest levels since 2001-2002, at 73.9 per cent.
91裸聊视频淭here are listings that will come to the market because of COVID-19, but many properties are also not being listed right now due to the virus,91裸聊视频� said Cathcart.
Brian DePratto, senior economist at TD Economics, said it can be hard to understand how the housing market can be so hot when the unemployment rate remains in double-digits.
91裸聊视频淭he pandemic has disproportionately impacted lower income Canadians, who are less likely to be or become homeowners,91裸聊视频� wrote DePratto in a note to clients. 91裸聊视频淏orrowing costs have fallen.91裸聊视频�
DePratto said that the strength of the recent rebound in the housing market is 91裸聊视频渄efinitely surprising91裸聊视频� and said there are still many factors to watch in terms of tracking the economic recovery from the pandemic.
91裸聊视频淎 number of support programs, including mortgage forbearance, are helping insulate the economy from the worst impacts of the pandemic,91裸聊视频� wrote DePratto.
91裸聊视频淎s autumn approaches, these programs will expire or change form. Depending on the progress of the broader economic recovery, this could bring significant headwinds to housing markets, particularly prices.91裸聊视频�
The Canadian Press
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