Canadian Home Sales Rise in March

Ottawa, ON, April 15, 2013 - According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales edged upward on a month-over-month basis in March 2013 but stayed well below levels recorded one year ago.

Highlights:

• National home sales rose 2.4% from February to March.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity came in 15.3% below levels in March 2012.
• The number of newly listed homes was up 3.2% from February to March.
• The Canadian housing market remains firmly in balanced territory.
• The national average sale price rose 2.5% on a year-over-year basis in March.
• The MLS® HPI rose 2.2% in March, its smallest gain in more than two years.

The number of home sales processed through the MLS® Systems of real estate Boards and Associations and other co-operative listing systems in Canada rose 2.4 per cent on a month-over-month basis in March 2013.

Home sales improved in more than half of all local markets from February to March, led by gains in Greater Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Calgary, Greater Toronto, Montreal, Saskatoon, Hamilton-Burlington, and Kitchener-Waterloo.

“National sales have been holding fairly stable since last summer,” said CREA President Laura Leyser. “We’ll be watching closely as the spring market picks up to see whether the March sales increase marks the beginning of an improving trend. In the meantime, it’s important to remember that local market conditions often can and do differ from what’s reported at the national level, so buyers and sellers really should speak to their REALTOR® to understand how the housing market is shaping up where they live or might like to.”

Read full press release from CREA

Further information can be found at http://crea.ca/statistics.