Canada
CanadianĀ housing market expected to stay on hot streak
Canadaās housing market is back on a roll, a finding that should be evident in the September sales data that the Canadian Real Estate Association will release on Tuesday.
The slump that began in the summer of 2012 came to an end this past summer, with sales topping economistsā forecasts, and the market showing a surprising amount of momentum.
Preliminary numbers from local real estate boards suggest that Septemberās national figures will continue the streak of strong results. The Toronto Real Estate Board said the number of houses sold in the Toronto area via the Multiple Listing Service during September came in 30 per cent higher than a year earlier, while Calgaryās real estate board posted a 19-per-cent increase. Sales in Vancouver, the Canadian city hardest hit during the recent downturn, rose 63.8 per cent from a year ago.
Itās worth noting that the market was in the doldrums at this point last year, which inflates the year-over-year comparisons. But the numbers still point to a market that has recovered, and then some. The 7,411 houses sold in the Toronto area was 9.6 per cent higher than the 10-year average for September. Calgaryās sales are 14 per cent higher than the long-term average for that month, and Vancouverās sales are now back in line with the average.
Bank of Montreal senior economist Robert Kavcic said he expects that sales nationally will come in about 15 per cent higher than last September, and that prices will have risen by 8 per cent over the year.
While Mr. Kavcic sees the housing market as āpretty balanced and well-behaved,ā Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce economist Benjamin Tal thinks it is probably too hot for the comfort of regulators and the federal government.
More @Ā http://www.theglobeandmail.com
South of the border …
Boom! What Was That? The Real Estate Boom, Booming
If you’d bought a flimsy McMansion in one of America’sĀ sweltering boom zonesĀ just after the recession struck, you could have had it for a nickel. Now, prices are soaring once again. The boomiest boom areas of theĀ Ā are booming!
The shithole oil boom towns of Montana arebooming so muchĀ that not only is real estate unaffordable, but the towns can’t afford to build schools to hold all the new kids or treatment plants to treat all the new sewage. (These towns are also infested byĀ , a sure sign of the end times.)
In Phoenix, a place where no one in their right mind wants to live by choice,Ā housing demand is so highĀ that buyers searching for affordable homes are now forced to buy in theĀ exurbsĀ of Phoenix, an area even less desirable than Phoenix proper.
You can buy aĀ $100 million Manhattan penthouseĀ instead, if you like.
In Vegas, a literal desert inhospitable to human life, home pricesĀ are finally stabilizingĀ after rising 30% in the past year.
In Texas, “known for its open spaces and cheap property” and novelty gun-shaped belt buckles,bidding wars are breaking out, which is a relatively new phenomenon in a state whose greatest natural resource is vast expanses of dusty plain.Ā Bloomberg reports:
The boom shows that the U.S. real estate marketās rebound is extending beyond areas such asĀ Arizona, Florida,Ā CaliforniaĀ andĀ Nevada, where prices are soaring after being hardest-hit by the crash that started in 2006. Texas, which largely avoided the collapse, is benefiting from employment growth and an expanding population, the more traditional forces of housing demand.
In other words, everything is going just as it should. Now’s the time to snap up all the real estate you canāwith borrowed money. And flip it! Up is the only direction! Next stopācatastrofortune!
[Photo:Ā Flickr]
Elsewhere on earth …
China
China’sĀ Booming Real EstateĀ Takes Toll On Cemetery Plot Prices
Middle East
DubaiĀ real estateĀ salaries set to rise amid newĀ boom
Australia
SuperĀ boomĀ in Melbourne home prices is yet to reach its peak
Real EstateĀ Institute of Victoria chief executive officer Enzo Raimondo said October was due to have about 4500 auctions, on a par with MayĀ …
Whaddaya Say?