Canadian real estate market maintains a "steady" growth

House prices and sales volumes in Canada continue to increase in a strong but manageable manner says the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).

Its latest market trends report says that year-to-date sales "remain in line with the 10-year average" and that Vancouver leads the market.

Seasonally adjusted national home sales activity rose 2.6% in June 2011 and major markets that saw noteworthy gains over May included Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, London, Hamilton, and Victoria.

The national average price for Canadian homes sold in June 2011 was $372,700, up 8.7% from the same month last year. "The national average price is becoming less affected by the overall number of sales in some expensive Vancouver neighbourhoods, but is still being pitched higher by the value of those sales," says CREA.

"Canadian housing demand remains resilient, thanks to low interest rates, job growth, and home buyer confidence in the economy," CREA president Gary Morse told OPP.

"The Canadian housing sector remains on a solid footing. The rise in monthly home sales activity at the end of the second quarter, upbeat business sentiment and hiring intentions, and signs that the Bank of Canada is in no rush to raise interest rates bode well for home sales activity and prices going into the second half of 2011," added Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist.

Source: Overseas Property Professional