CREA: May home prices buoyed by Vancouver numbers terms, home

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CREA: May home prices buoyed by Vancouver numbers



Canadian existing home sales fell in May by 0.6 per cent from the previous month, but was up 2.7 per cent on the year, the Canadian Real Estate Association said.


Sales fell to 36,410 units on a seasonally adjusted basis, from 36,621 units in April, the Ottawa-based group said in a statement sent by e-mail today. Sales during the month were down 0.7 percent in dollar terms and up 12 percent from May last year.


The average sales price was down 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in May, the group said, but noted it was up 8.6 percent from a year earlier. CREA officials said that number was heavily skewed by the more affluent markets in Vancouver and Toronto.


Without Vancouver, the year-over-year increase would only be 5.6 per cent, according to the CREA.


Finance Minister Jim Flaherty set rules that took effect March 18 to shorten the maximum amortization period for government-insured mortgages to 30 years from 35 years and lower the maximum homeowners can borrow against the value of their homes, citing concern that Canadians had taken on record debt levels.

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Canadian existing home sales fell in May by 0.6 per cent, the Canadian Real Estate Association said