Notable weakness observed in Western Canada – CREA
Western Canada experienced most declines in housing demand
Ephraim Vecina
Mortgage Broker News
Western Canada experienced the most notable declines in housing demand last month, according to new data from the Canadian Real Estate Association.
The CREA’s October measurement of the nationwide sales-to-new-listings ratio, which illustrates demand by quantifying absorption during the same month, showed that Vancouver suffered the most significant adjustment: The city’s ratio fell by 26.22% year-over-year to reach 48.4, which also made it the third lowest in Western Canada.
The Vancouver situation is exacerbated by the fact that only 11% of current renters in the city are planning to proceed to home ownership by next year, according to the Altus Group’s Vancouver Flash Report 2018.
“While homebuying intentions are up among current home buyers [14% in 2017 to 19% this year], this has been offset by weaker intentions among current renters – the latter being the primary pool for potential first-time buyers. Affordability remains a challenge for first-time buyers in the Vancouver market,” the study noted.
According to the CREA numbers, Victoria experienced the second largest drop in October at 15.53%, placing its ratio at 63.1. Calgary followed suit with a 12.38% year-over-year decline, down to a 47.4 reading.
Edmonton, which has endured the brunt of the oil price crashes of the past few years, had the lowest ratio last month at 45.3, falling from the previous year’s 48.9.
In comparison, Toronto’s SNLR fell by just 9.69% to reach 49.4.
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