MLS listings reach record high

15.05.2008 00:01 Shopping - Source: cbc.ca

New figures out Wednesday show MLS listings were at an all-time high in April, pointing to further cooling in Canada's housing market.

There were 67,554 newly listed properties in Canada's major markets last month — 17.7 per cent more than a year earlier.

That was mainly due to "unprecedented" numbers of new listings in Toronto and Saskatoon, the Canadian Real Estate Association said.

Listings in Calgary and Edmonton fell from record levels in March, but were still up by 17 per cent and 36 per cent, respectively, from last year.

"New listings are forecast to rise further as sales activity continues retreating from the peak last year," said CREA chief economist Grogory Klump in a release.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the number of major market sales rose less than one per cent from March levels. But on a year-over-year basis, sales were down 12.2 per cent.

In its commentary on the April market, Calgary's real estate board said homes were taking twice as long to sell as they did a year ago. The number of MLS sales in Calgary fell 31 per cent from last year's levels.

More listings means more choice for buyers and more pressure on sellers to lower prices. So it comes as no surprise that price gains are cooling off nationally.

Price gains moderating

The April MLS figures show that the average home selling price last month was $334,293 — up 3.2 per cent from April of 2007. That's the smallest year-over-year price increase in over six years, the association said.

Average prices in formerly red-hot Calgary and Edmonton fell from March levels and are now down slightly from last year. Year-over-year prices were also down by less than one per cent in St. Catharines and Windsor, both in Ontario.

Saskatchewan's two big cities again captured the title of hottest real estate markets in the country. Regina's average price of $248,039 was up almost 65 per cent over last year. The gain in Saskatoon was a more modest 31 per cent to $289,773, even though new listings were more than double what they were in April 2007.

Vancouver's average price of $615,304 was again good enough for top spot in the country. That's a nine per cent increase in a year.

Prices in Toronto were up 5.2 per cent to an average $398,687. New listrings jumped by more than 18 per cent.

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