National resale housing activity picked up for the third straight month in October, according to data from the Canadian Real Estate Association.
Existing homes sales via CREA’s Multiple Listing Service climbed 4.6% in the month after similar increases in August and September. Three-quarters of local markets were higher with Toronto and Vancouver leading the gains.
Resale activity is now 13.3% above the market’s July trough.
Canada’s residential property sector set a blistering pace of activity in the second half of 2009 and the beginning of 2010. With pent up demand exhausted, tighter mortgage lending rules and the introduction of the harmonized sale tax in Ontario and B.C., the national market cooled in the summer months.
CREA said the early fall numbers suggest the ups and downs of the market may be leveling out.
"National sales activity is now running almost halfway between the highs and lows posted between late 2008 and late 2009," said Gregory Klump, CREA's chief economist.
"This suggests that the Canadian housing market may be starting to normalize. After the wild rollercoaster ride that many housing markets have been on, normal and stable market conditions are something that many buyers and sellers will likely welcome."
Average resale house prices inched up less than a full percentage point over a year ago to $343,747 in October.
New listings also rose in October, up 1.3% on a seasonally-adjusted basis. New listings, however, remain 14% below the recent peak reached in April 2010.
Still the supply-demand picture remains roughly balanced, CREA said.
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