U.S. Home Sales Jump In
April
May 30, 2003
U.S. Home sales were up in April because of the end of the Iraq war, warmer weather and
tumbling mortgage interest rates.
Sales of existing homes rose 5.6 per cent in April, according to the National Association
of Realtors (NAR).
New home sales rose 1.7 per cent to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.028 million, reports
the Commerce Department, the third fastest pace since the government began tracking the
date in 1963.
Sales of previously owned homes climbed to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.84
million units from a 5.53 million unit pace in March, said NAR.
The April sales rate exceeded expectations of analysts in a Reuters' survey who on average
had expected a 5.67 million-unit clip. However in a possible sign of future softness,
inventories of homes for sale rose to 2.47 million units, their highest level since
September 1991.
The median existing home sales price in April was $163,400, up 6.8 per cent from the same
month in the prior year.
Meanwhile, according to a separate report from the Commerce Department, sales of new
single-family homes advanced 1.7 per cent to a 1.028 million annual rate.
Report Says Canada's Housing Market Remains Hot
May 29, 2003
According to a Royal Bank of Canada report it cost more to buy and maintain a house in the
first quarter, but the Canadian real estate market remained hot in January to March
despite a slight increase in the costs of buying and operating a home.
The bank said house prices across the country should rise more slowly as new listings for
existing homes increase and sales in some regions moderate. Together with an increase in
the supply of new housing coming to market, that will likely dampen pricing pressures
moving forward.
The bank said its housing affordability index edged up 32.5 per cent from 32.1 per cent in
the 2002 fourth quarter.
Royal Bank economist Carl Gomez, author of the report said, "rising prices due to
tight market condition across the country, and to a lesser extent higher utility costs
during the quarter, were the primary factors for the deterioration in affordability".
He added, "solid underlying fundamentals, namely healthy income growth, have kept
Canada's housing market strong. Affordability remains at every reasonable levels relative
to history".
In results by province the housing market in B.C. was the tightest in the country because
of a severe shortage of available listings relative to strong demand.
Rising housing prices eroded affordability in Alberta, but the province is still the
second most affordable market in Canada behind only the Atlantic region.
The cost of home ownership in Saskatchewan continues to be among the lowest in Canada
behind the Atlantic region and Alberta. While housing prices, on average, increased in the
first quarter, housing demand is showing signs of moderation, as existing home sales fell
two per cent in the first quarter from the previous quarter.
The house market remains extremely tight in Manitoba due to a severe shortage of supply.
Affordability fell mildly in Ontario, where borrowing costs were lower but housing prices,
and to a lesser extent electricity and natural gas costs, increased.
Housing affordability continued to fall in the first quarter in Quebec, where a sharp rise
in housing prices offset the gains from lower borrowing costs.
Ownership costs for a detached bungalow in the Atlantic region remain the most affordable
in Canada ¨Cat 26.8 per cent of household income in the first
quarter of 2003, slightly higher than the 26.6 per cent level posted in the last quarter
of 2002. Like the rest of the country, rising housing prices due to tight market
conditions was the main contributor to the decrease in affordability.
Source: Lumberplus.com |
