Financial Post reports: Value of new homes goes up

At last, the housing market starts to look a lot better. This article was published by the Financial Post, some of the interesting parts as follow:

The value of new homes in Canada barely grew in June, with many regions posting annual declines once adjusted for inflation, new figures show. But despite forecasts for more soft readings ahead, economists say Canadians are not expected to experience a major U. S.-style correction because prices are still historically high.

(..) It was the slowest yearly rate of growth since March, 2002, and barely outpaced headline inflation, which rose to 3.1% in June.

Growth has slowed since peaking at the unsustainable pace of 12.1% in August, 2006. However, it still averaged a high 7.8% in 2007.(..)

(..) Growth in Toronto picked up slightly to 3.8% compared with 2.5% a year earlier, while in Montreal, prices rose by 5.6%, up from 3.9% in June, 2007.

If you have been following the Canadian Market trends, you probably realized by now that even with the slight increases of sales (quarterly), we are still facing a very volatile market. Checking back with previous Market News, in April we had a report from the Canadian Housing Corporation giving us the details a low market. Canadian Housing was down by 16.3% - with the exceptions of British Columbia.

For those who are wondering when is the best time to put your home for sale, this is one of those times we all can say: We just don’t know.

But, we keep on watching the trends, and take it from there.

Montréal Resale Market Trends

According to the MLS® system data, the resale market in the Montréal Metropolitan Area is bucking the trend in comparison with other large Canadian cities, says the Greater Montréal Real Estate Board’s (GMREB). In June 2008, residential transactions were on the rise by 2%, which brings the decrease of sales since the beginning of the year to only 3%.

“Unlike the general trend elsewhere in Canada, the resale market in the Montréal Metropolitan Area is doing well,” says Michel Beauséjour, FCA, Chief Executive Officer of the GMREB. “Other large Canadian cities are seeing slower activity, with sales in Toronto decreasing by 14% since the beginning of the year, by 32% in Calgary and by 20% in Vancouver.”

For the Montréal Metropolitan Area, 25,519 transactions were recorded in the MLS® system during the first six months of 2008, a decrease of 3% compared to the 26,430 sales during the same period last year.

“Condominiums go against the tide recorded since the start of 2008 with a cumulative increase of sales of 7% compared to the first six months of 2007, while single-family homes show an equal decrease of 7%,” says Michel Beauséjour.

MLS® Residential Statistics Montréal Metropolitan Area - January to June 2008
		Variation
Active listings New listings Total sales Single-family Condominiums Plex (2 to 5 dwellings) Volume of sales Median price Single-family Condominiums Plex (2 to 5 dwellings)	24,771 42,791 25,519 15,232 7,330 2,693 $6,506,683,671 $225,000 $183,000 $336,950	+2 % +6 % -3 % -7 % +7 % -6 % +1 % +6 % +3 % +7 %

Source: The Montreal Real Estate Board

Reasons why you shouldn’t overprice your home.

Because of the constant changes in real estate market conditions, more sellers are competing for fewer buyers. And most buyers are not jumping at the first property they fall in love with.
“The initial asking price is NOT that important because it can always be lowered later.”

Wrong! The original asking price is very important. Specially when working with the new generation of buyers who are well informed on the market conditions. But many homeowners still believe over pricing a listing is the way to go. And they couldn’t be further from the truth. It is a myth. It’s a time wasting myth.

Find out more… Read more