Mortgage Bytes
*National resale housing market activity continued climbing in July 2009, with sales posting the largest year-over-year gain in two years. It was also the first time on record that sales activity topped 50,000 units for the month of July in any year on record, according the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
*CREA statistics state a total of 50,270 homes traded hands via the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) of Canadian real estate boards in July 2009. This is up 18.2% from the same month last year, and stands 3.9% above the previous record for the month of July set in 2007.
*On a seasonally adjusted basis, national MLS home sales posted a sixth consecutive month-over-month increase in July, climbing 2.5% from June to reach 42,539 units. Seasonally adjusted activity now stands 61.2% above the decade-low in January, and just 1.4% below the all-time peak in May 2007.
*“Sales activity started off the third quarter on a strong footing,” says CREA President Dale Ripplinger. “The difference in the resale housing market now, compared to the beginning of the year is night and day, and nowhere is this more evident than in the West. Homebuyers recognize that interest rates and prices have bottomed out and are taking advantage of excellent affordability before prices and interest rates move higher.”
*Most Canadians who lose a job in this recession are finding new ones almost as soon as those who became unemployed before the downturn, according to a CIBC World Markets report.
*In dramatic contrast to past recessions and the current situation in the US, the average length of unemployment in Canada is “relatively stable,” says Benjamin Tal, Senior Economist, in the Consumer Watch Canada report.
*“The average duration of unemployment is currently 15 weeks in Canada – a modest increase from the pre-recession level of 14 weeks, and notably lower than the increases seen in the 1991 recession. At the equivalent stage of the 1991 recession, the duration of unemployment was 20 weeks,” Tal says.
*The report notes that while Canada’s rising unemployment rate is concerning, it “masks a more positive story” about the labour market. The “long-term unemployment rate” that tracks those out of work for six months or more is 30% below the rate at the same stage of the 1991 recession.
*National resale housing market activity continued climbing in July 2009, with sales posting the largest year-over-year gain in two years. It was also the first time on record that sales activity topped 50,000 units for the month of July in any year on record, according the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
*CREA statistics state a total of 50,270 homes traded hands via the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) of Canadian real estate boards in July 2009. This is up 18.2% from the same month last year, and stands 3.9% above the previous record for the month of July set in 2007.
*On a seasonally adjusted basis, national MLS home sales posted a sixth consecutive month-over-month increase in July, climbing 2.5% from June to reach 42,539 units. Seasonally adjusted activity now stands 61.2% above the decade-low in January, and just 1.4% below the all-time peak in May 2007.
*“Sales activity started off the third quarter on a strong footing,” says CREA President Dale Ripplinger. “The difference in the resale housing market now, compared to the beginning of the year is night and day, and nowhere is this more evident than in the West. Homebuyers recognize that interest rates and prices have bottomed out and are taking advantage of excellent affordability before prices and interest rates move higher.”
*Most Canadians who lose a job in this recession are finding new ones almost as soon as those who became unemployed before the downturn, according to a CIBC World Markets report.
*In dramatic contrast to past recessions and the current situation in the US, the average length of unemployment in Canada is “relatively stable,” says Benjamin Tal, Senior Economist, in the Consumer Watch Canada report.
*“The average duration of unemployment is currently 15 weeks in Canada – a modest increase from the pre-recession level of 14 weeks, and notably lower than the increases seen in the 1991 recession. At the equivalent stage of the 1991 recession, the duration of unemployment was 20 weeks,” Tal says.
*The report notes that while Canada’s rising unemployment rate is concerning, it “masks a more positive story” about the labour market. The “long-term unemployment rate” that tracks those out of work for six months or more is 30% below the rate at the same stage of the 1991 recession.
Compliments of:
Evan Sirota, Dominion Lending Lending Centres/Edge Financial
Tel.#: 416-629-8106
http://www.evansirota.ca/
Email: evansirota@sympatico.ca
