Housing sales soar in November 

Ottawa market jumps 42 per cent compared with depressed 2008 levels By Bert Hill, The Ottawa Citizen December 4, 2009 

Spurred by low mortgage rates and a relatively stable economy, Ottawa housing sales in November jumped 42 per cent from the depressed figure of a year earlier.Sales a year ago were hard hit by the economic crisis chilling markets.Still, the figure for this November shows a housing market that's rebounding, and then some.

Rick Snell, president of the Ottawa Real Estate Board said Thursday the 916 sales in November were far above the year-earlier sales of just 643, and comfortably beat the five-year average for the month of 809 sales."Listing inventory (of houses available for sale) remains at a low level and we are still in a seller's market.''Another report Thursday said Ottawa will be one of two Canadian cities where housing sales will beat previous records this year. The other is Quebec City, said the Re/Max housing market outlook.It is predicting that Ottawa housing prices will rise five per cent this year to $305,000 and four per cent next year to $317,500.

According to the real estate board, average prices in Ottawa rose 7.4 per cent to $313,370, driven by big price gains in single-family houses.A taste for premium-priced houses accelerated. Sales of houses priced over $500,000 jumped to 81 units from 33 units a year earlier, while bungalows rose 12 per cent to $326,577 and two-storey houses rose 10 per cent to $359,833.While move-up buyers drove up prices of single-family units, first-time shoppers and empty-nesters bought condominium apartments and townhouses at a faster clip but refused to splurge.

Average condominium prices rose a modest 1.7 per cent to $225,767 compared to a year earlier. There were 1,283 new listings in November, down from 1,585 listings in October. The market demand was strongest for one-storey condominiums, predominately apartments, with sales up 96 per cent compared to a year earlier. Sales of two-storey condos, mostly townhouses, rose 46 per cent.Despite the demand, condo price changes were modest. Apartment prices actually fell 3.4 per cent to an average of $252,180, while townhouses rose 2.2 per cent $200,196.Single-family unit sales rose briskly. Bungalow sales rose 25 per cent and two-storey houses rose 42 per cent.With confidence rising that Canada had escaped the deflating house price bubble crisis in U.S. markets, sales have rebounded across the country, according to the Re/Max outlook.While average prices this year will decline in Victoria, Kelowna, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon and Sudbury, the real estate company is predicting a rebound for the 23 urban centres it studied. Prices will rise five per cent this year to $318,000 and two per cent next year to $325,000.The biggest average price increases this year will be in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, with a 15-per-cent increase.

Among the top six cities by population, Greater Toronto will match Ottawa with a five-per-cent increase to a $400,000 average price.Montreal prices will rise three per cent to $266,000, Vancouver prices will rise one per cent to $600,000, Edmonton prices will fall four per cent to $321,000 and Calgary prices will fall five per cent to $385,000.The Ottawa housing market was in a deep freeze through the final quarter of last year and the first quarter this year and then made a dramatic turnaround.Through the first 11 months of the year, sales are up six per cent to 14,058 units and prices are up 4.6 per cent to $303,679.© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen         

Retail sales soar past expectations 

Numbers latest sign of fading recession Financial Post August 25, 2009  

Retail sales rose more than expected in June, adding to mounting evidence that Canada is pulling out of recession.Sales were up one per cent during the month, to $34.4 billion, Statistics Canada said Monday. The increase, the fifth in the last six months, was mainly driven by higher gasoline prices, the federal agency said.

Most economists had forecast a 0.2-per-cent rise in June retail sales, following revised 1.1-per-cent spike in May."Sales rose in six of eight retail trade sectors in June. The automotive sector was the largest contributor to overall growth, with a 2.1-per-cent sales gain," the agency said."A 4.7-per-cent rise in sales at gasoline stations was the main contributor to June's increase in the automotive sector. Higher gas prices drove this advance.

"Retail sales were up in nine provinces in June. The biggest increases were in Manitoba, up 2.8 per cent, and Saskatchewan, up 2.3 per cent.Benjamin Reitzes at BMO Capital Markets said "while a good chunk of the gains in June were driven by higher gasoline prices, the second straight gain in sales highlights the health of Canadian consumers relative to their U.S. counterparts."However, continued job losses into Q3 point to still-tepid household spending.

"Krishen Rangasamy at CIBC World Markets added: "Gains in retail sales add further weight to growing evidence that Canada's recession ended in June."The broad-based gains also imply that "the consumer's mood is beginning to warm up. The improved confidence is corroborated by the rebound in the housing market and is a big positive for growth going forward."- - -

Retail Sales(% change in June from May)Newfoundland and Lab. +1.0Prince Edward Island +0.2Nova Scotia +1.8New Brunswick -0.2Quebec +1.8Ontario +0.1Manitoba +2.8Saskatchewan +2.3Alberta +1.3British Columbia +0.7Yukon +2.0Northwest Territories +3.0Nunavut +1.7Source:
Statistics Canada© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen     

Ottawa home sales jump 11.5%  

By Vito Pilieci, The Ottawa Citizen August 10, 2009  OTTAWA —

The Ottawa real estate market continued to soar in July, according to the Ottawa Real Estate Board. The board reported that more than 1,577 resale homes were sold within the city in July, 11.5 per cent higher then the same month in 2008. The average selling price of a home also increased. The average two-storey detached residential property sold for $344,398 during the month, a 3.1-per-cent increase over the $333,981 the same homes were selling for during the same month one year ago.

"Ottawa's resale housing market had another strong month in July," said Rick Snell, president of the Real Estate Board. "High demand combined with a very low listing inventory is creating a very strong seller's market with multiple offers and increased prices."Mr. Snell said in the first six months of 2009 resale home sales in Ottawa are 2.6 per cent higher than they were over the same period in 2008.© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen