Canadian housing sales slump in 1st half of '08
Canada's housing market slumped considerably in the first six months of 2008, said the Canadian Real Estate Association on Monday.
The number of residential homes sold across the country sagged by 13 per cent for the January to June period, according to figures released by the organization.
The numbers appear to be further proof that Canada is sliding into an economic downturn.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development predicts that the Canadian economy will grow by only 1.2 per cent this year. In periods of slower growth, potential home buyers often hold off purchases until the economy improves.
CREA said the fewer units sold for the first six months of 2008 reduced the total value of industry sales $78.9 billion compared with last year when the dollar value of residential housing sales reached a record value.
Recently, CREA said the number of homes listed for sale grew 8.1 per cent for the first half of 2008.
Interestingly, prices for those units that sold continued to rise, up 3.6 per cent for the January to June period. The average price for a home stood at $313,160 in June.
On an unadjusted basis, total sales have been retreating on a monthly basis since last summer. Once you account for the industry's annual sales cycle, the trend is still downwards, but to a lesser degree, according to CREA.
"(Figures) show that seasonally adjusted national activity in 2008 has held steady since posting a 6.0 per cent month-over-month decline in February," CREA said in a news release.
South of the border, the U.S. housing sector is in even worse straits.
In June, U.S. home sales fell by 15 per cent compared with last June. The failing sub-prime mortgage sector and an overall economic slump has Americans shying away from home purchases, analysts said.
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