MNI: 5 Things We Learned From Canada December Home Resale Data

By Yali N'Diaye

     OTTAWA (MNI) - The following are the key points from the existing home

sales data for December released by The Canadian Real Estate Association Monday:

     - Existing home sales surged 4.5% TO 45,976 in December, with activity up

in nearly 60% of local markets, led by the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

     - CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump attributed the surge to seasonal

adjustment factors and "a potential pull-forward of demand before new mortgage

regulations came into effect this year," referring to more stringer stress

testing effective since January 1st. So it remains to be seen how activity will

adjust to tighter regulation and higher interest rates going forward, with the

Bank of Canada expecting a slowdown.

     - Listings increased 3.3% in December to 79,790, once "overwhelmingly" led

by the GTA. Sales-to-listings ratios indicate that more than two-thirds of

markets were balanced in December.

     - Still, the number of months of inventory decreased to 4.5 months from 4.7

in November.

     - On the price front, however, the slowdown continued. The Aggregate

Composite MLS HPI rose 9.1% year-over-year in December, marking the eighth

consecutive deceleration, and the smallest gain since February 2016. On an

average basis, prices edged up 0.8% on the month to C$517,263. The actual

unadjusted national average price was up 5.7% year-over-year.

--MNI Ottawa Bureau; +1 613 869-0916; email: yali.ndiaye@marketnews.com

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