Homes sales in two of Canada’s major cities reflect very different markets in the Great White North.
Home sales in the metro Vancouver area were up almost 23%, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reported Friday. In May, 4,364 residential properties were sold, compared with 3,553 in April.
The board also reported that prices are up, with the average price for homes in the area now C$967,500 (US$717,437), which is 8.8% higher than in May 2016 and 2.8% more than in April 2017.
Breaking that down, the composite price for a detached home in May was about $1.6 million, 3.1% more than in May 2016 and 2.9% more than the previous month. Apartments came in at an average of C$571,300 (US$423,640), reflecting a huge jump—17.8%—from May 2016 and a 3.1% increase compared to April 2017.
Although May 2017 sales were down 8.5% from the all-time record of 4,769 in May 2016, sales were 23.7% above the 10-year May sales average, the board reported. Last month marked the third highest selling May on record.
More:Home buyers get the most square footage for their money in this state
Jill Oudil, president of the board, said that competition for townhouses and condominiums is leading the market.
There were 6,044 new listings in May 2017, with listings for detached homes up 27.1%, apartments up 22.7%and townhouses up 14.1%. The total number of new listings increased 23.2%from April, when 4,907 homes were listed. The number is down almost 4%from May 2016, which saw 6,289 listings.
"Home buyers are beginning to have more selection to choose from in the detached market, but the number of condominiums for sale continues to decline," Ms. Oudil said in a statement.
Looking to learn more about the red-hot #RealEstate market of Toronto? Enjoy our special report: https://t.co/rEsTRS9nzA pic.twitter.com/U6OE8eu8lX
— Mansion Global (@MansionGlobal) February 24, 2017
Meanwhile in Ontario, Toronto’s housing market has taken a bit of a beating after new housing measures were introduced by the government in April. The number of homes sold dropped 12% in May, according to data released Monday by the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), with average prices dropping 6% from April.
The numbers are also significantly down from last year. The Toronto real estate board reported 10,196 home sales in May 2017, down from 12,790 in May 2016, a 20.3% change. Sales of detached homes were down 26.3% while condominium sales were down 6.4%.
More:Canadian Home Sales Dropped in April Following Record Sales in March
Prices dropped in May as well, with the average sale price at C$863,910 (US$640,621), as opposed to C$920,791 (US$682,800) in April, a 6.2% decrease. However, prices were up nearly 15%from May 2016.
At the same time, the number of listings has surged, with 25,837 homes for sale in May, up from 21,630 in April. That’s a 19.4% increase, while the year-over-year increase is 49% (17,356 listings hit the market in May 2016).
The government announced the Ontario Fair Housing Plan in April, which includes several measures to "bring stability to the real estate market," its website said. These include a 15% tax for foreign buyers.
"The actual, or normalized, effect of the Ontario Fair Housing Plan remains to be seen. In the past, some housing policy changes have initially led to an overreaction on the part of homeowners and buyers, which later balanced out," Jason Mercer, TREB’s director of market analysis, said in a statement.