Published on 06 April 2006 at 02:43 pm
Filed in Property News for Canada » Real Estate in Canada: Record Growth
As reported by Amberlamb last month in our article ‘It’s Calgary versus Toronto for Property Investors in Canada’, house prices in Calgary in Canada have been surging ahead and pushing up the national average.
The latest news from the property market in Canada revealed in a report collated by Royal LePage Real Estate Services this week shows that the Canadian property market is continuing to experience record growth, with the province of Alberta and much of the rest of Western Canada responsible for supporting the entire market countrywide.
The Chief Executive of Royal LePage Real Estate Services commented on the findings of the report this week by saying that he felt that property in Canada would continue to enjoy strong yet sustainable growth throughout 2006. The national rate of property appreciation has slowed from its highest levels, yet the number of properties actually changing hands remains as high as ever.
This continued demand together with the fact that average Canadians are becoming more affluent and the country is enjoying record low unemployment figures and attractively low interest rates means that the market will likely remain buoyant and strong throughout 2006.
A particularly mild winter season is believed to be the factor behind the fact that the year got off to a flying start for the real estate market in Canada. The volume of house sales in Canada for the first quarter of 2006 was almost unprecedented and as the country moves towards spring, which is traditionally the most popular season for the housing market, it is the province of Alberta that’s continuing to fuel the record house price increases.
The province has enjoyed an employment boom with unemployment figures falling to 30 year lows and employers desperately seeking skilled workers. The energy sector in particular is fuelling this demand for workers and the overall demand has resulted in unprecedented levels of inward migration. The demand for housing stock from those moving to cities such as Calgary and Edmonton (pictured) saw house price gains of 31.2% in Calgary and 22% in Edmonton.
These figures have boosted the national average house price in Canada massively, yet there remains reason to be positive for the housing market as a whole because even in provinces and cities where the gains were far lower they were still in positive territory. The only factor that is causing concern currently is the fact that as the affordability gap widens fewer first time buyers are entering the marketplace. As first time buyers provide the bedrock on which a successful real estate market is built, Canada has to carefully monitor the rate at which its national houses prices continue to rise.
