Resale Homes
Resale Homes
AROUND THE MARKET: Real estate market fears unfounded
While fears that the Canadian real-estate market was going to head south just like our U.S. neighbours have swept the market, all signs are now pointing toward a major recovery instead.
Just last week, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) revised its MLS home sales forecast for 2009 and 2010 due to unexpectedly strong sales across the country in the second quarter of 2009.
In May, CREA issued a forecast that predicted a 14.7-per-cent decline in real-estate transactions this year. But sales activity across the country has brought that up significantly, prompting CREA to forecast a decline of only 0.4 per cent in activity compared to levels set in 2008.
"Sales activity started off the third quarter on a strong footing," said Dale Ripplinger, president of CREA."The difference in the resale housing market now, compared to the beginning of the year, is night and day, and nowhere is this more evident than in the West."
Manitoba is one market where the average home price has continued to rise, despite the economic downturn and fears that the recession would impact the real estate market. In July 2009, the average selling price of a home in Manitoba was $206,135. That's up $10,000 over July, 2008, when the average price was $195,964.
Nationally, the average price of a home has also risen. The average selling price increased more than $20,000, from $303,642 in July 2008 to $326,832 in July of this year.
According to CREA, the national MLS average home price is forecast to increase 1.5 per cent overall in 2009. That's due to a strong rebound in sales activity, not price, in some of Canada's most expensive markets, which is skewing the national, and some provincial average prices upward. CREA had originally forecast a decline in the national average price of 5.2 per cent in 2009.
"Low interest rates are boosting sales by returning homebuyers to the market who moved to the sidelines late last year," said CREA's chief economist Gregory Klump. "Buyers are also shifting purchase decisions forward as they take advantage of attractive interest rates now before financing costs increase."
Just like Manitoba, the average price is expected to continue to rise across the country this year, with the exception of Alberta. The oil-rich province has to deal with recession and budget crunches for the first time in many years, and the impact is being seen in the real-estate market. Alberta is the only province with a forecast decline in average price of 4.4 per cent in 2009. Calgary's average home price dropped from $402,788 in July 2008 to $381,740 in July of this year.
Not that the bottom has really dropped out of the real-estate market in Alberta. I was in Calgary last week and housing prices seemed to be as strong as ever to me. The market has come down a bit, but prices are still exorbitantly higher than the real-estate market here in Manitoba. Despite the dampened market, Calgary still managed to post its highest-ever real-estate transaction this summer.
Two weeks ago, the home of former Calgary Flames goalie Mike Vernon sold for a record-breaking $10.3 million. The 12,700-square-foot home, which is located in upscale Elbow Park, was listed in May for $10.5 million and sold only a few months later for $10.3 million, setting the city's new real-estate record. In Winnipeg, there are two homes currently listed for more than $2 million and both have been on the market for several months.
Looking ahead, CREA's forecast predicts that average prices will stabilize over the rest of 2009 and 2010. A slow start in the first quarter of 2009 will result in a lower annual average-price increase this year compared to 2010. Next year, the national average price is forecast to be up 2.1 per cent from this year.
"The speed with which the Canadian resale housing market has rebounded is unprecedented," said Klump. "The economic recovery is expected to be slow and protracted, so the dramatic swings in activity seen in late 2008 and this year are unlikely to be repeated in 2010."
Resale Homes
Gen-X driving recreational housing sales
AS much as the baby-boom generation was a breed of workaholics, their kids have a passion for enjoying leisure time.
And they aren't afraid to spend money to achieve that laid-back lifestyle.
Generation X is big into second homes as a way of escaping and hanging out.
Loosely defined as those born from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, genXers are replacing their parents as a major force in recreation housing markets across Canada.
For the Xers, it's all about lifestyle, says a recent Recreational Property Report by Re/Max.
There has been a decided demographic shift, says the report highlighting sales, prices, trends and developments in 50 markets in Canada. Overall, the Re/Max report shows demand for recreation properties has nearly doubled from a year ago.
As far as the boomers' kids go, the report shows that 74 per cent of markets surveyed this year had a definite trend of this well-educated, financially sharp consumer group scooping up affordably-priced properties, whether a waterfront cottage, a chalet in the mountains or a resort condominium.
A year ago, a similar survey found this happening in just 40 per cent of the centres surveyed.
Many in this generation have families and have created a lifestyle around family that involves sharing more time with them.
"In the past, recreational properties were more of an investment," says Jessica Stoner, broker/owner of ReMax Alpine Realty in Canmore, Alta. "Now, it's lifestyle driven. A lot of generation X has kids and it's important to spend time with them, to do things with them--and a recreational property gives them that opportunity."
The level of activity by the genXers has to do with their mindset, says Elton Ash, regional executive vice-president of Re/Max Western Canada.
"More important than the investment aspect is the commitment to lifestyle," he says.
"It's more than simple transaction. Owning a recreational property underscores their dedication to family and balance."
There is much to consider when buying a recreation property, says purchaser David Cannell:
* Price is important, but ensure what you are considering buying fits your lifestyle.
* If you have pets, make sure regulations will allow them. Many condos don't.
* If you are thinking about renting your property out, again make sure it can be done.
* Think about distance. Do you want to drive four or five hours to and from the property for a weekend?
-- Canwest News Service
Resale Homes
Men, women cite different priorities in choosing home
OTTAWA -- Men and women setting out to buy a house together should know that they will come to a decision to purchase from different angles, according to an international real estate firm, which has uncovered some gender-based differences --as well as some common ground -- in their approach to buying.
Among the things the survey commissioned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC showed, women are quicker to make up their minds about whether they want a home they view.
When asked how long it took to decide that their home was "right" for them, 70 per cent of women said it happened the same day they first walked into it. With men, 62 per cent answered this way.
On the other hand, 32 per cent of men said they needed two or more visits to a home before deciding to buy it, compared to 23 per cent of women.
On the issue of location, 55 per cent of women said it was more important that their home be close to extended family than to work, compared to 37 per cent of men.
On the issue of security, 64 per cent of women said concerns about the home's safety would stop them from buying "the home of their dreams," compared to 51 per cent of men.
Asked what they would do with an extra room, men and women had the same top-three choices for how they would use it: as a bedroom, an office or den.
The survey was conducted for Coldwell Banker by International Communications Research by phone of more than 1,000 U.S. residents in May. The results are considered accurate within three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
-- Canwest News Service