Three of Canada’s major real estate boards reported February resale results last week. Vancouver saw a 41% increase in resale volumes from a year ago and a rise in the MLS Home Price Index of more than 3%. Calgary continues to be a very tight market with town homes and condominiums leading the way in sales growth. In Toronto, the condominium sector also performed well in February with listings for detached homes continuing to be scarce. Average prices in Toronto were up more than 8% from February, 2013.
Bank of Montreal published its latest Home Buying Report last week. More than a third of Canadian home buyers say that they are willing to engage in a bidding competition with other buyers. In Vancouver and Toronto, the percentage climbs to more than 40%. The average Canadian homeowner reported looking at more than 9 properties before buying.
The Bank of Canada left its overnight rate at 1% once again last week but in its commentary, higher than expected inflation data and a strong fourth quarter for the Canadian economy seems to have removed the possibility of a rate cut. The Bank reports that recent data supports its expectation of a soft landing for the housing market.
Employment figures for February were released by Statistics Canada on Friday and they were disappointing. The Canadian economy shed 7,000 jobs for the month while economists had forecast a gain of about 15,000. The unemployment rate remains at 7%. In the US, the news was much better as 175,000 jobs were added against expectations for a gain of 135,000.
The benchmark government of Canada five year bond yield ended the week at 1.72%, up from 1.63% the week before.
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