The Renovation and Home Purchase Survey reports on actual renovation expenditures made in the previous year, as well as intentions to buy or renovate a home in 2010 in the following 10 major centres: St. John’s, Halifax, Québec City, Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver.1 The survey provides timely information on renovation market trends.

“More than $25.8 billion was spent on renovations in 2009 across the 10 major surveyed centres, an increase of about $4.5 billion compared to 2008,” said Gustavo Durango, Senior Economist at CMHC. “As well, when Canadian homeowners were asked about their renovation plans for this year, 43 per cent indicated that they intend to spend $1,000 or more by the end of 2010.”

Half of the households surveyed reported that the cost of renovations undertaken in 2009 was in line with what they had budgeted, while 35 per cent said that they went over their planned budget for the renovation. Twenty-seven per cent of households that undertook a renovation project hired a contractor for a portion of the work. Twenty five per cent of renovations in 2009 were completed by “do it yourselfers”. However, many households (42 per cent) chose to contract out the entire renovation project.

Across the surveyed centres, 76 per cent of households who undertook renovations in 2009 paid for the work from savings, a slight increase from 75 per cent in 2008.

Moishe Alexander – Renovation Spending

The main reason given by households for renovating in 2009 was to update, add value or to prepare to sell (52 per cent). Thirty-two per cent said the main reason for renovating was that their home needed repairs. The top three renovations completed last year were: remodelling rooms (34 per cent); painting or wallpapering (29 per cent); hard surface flooring and wall-to-wall carpeting (27 per cent).

Of the 10 major surveyed centres, the highest percentage of homeowner households that renovated in 2009 was in St. John’s at 59 per cent, followed by Ottawa at 58 per cent, and Halifax and Winnipeg (both at 55 per cent). The centre with the lowest proportion was Montréal at 45 per cent.

Renovation intentions for 2010, across the 10 surveyed centres, are highest in St. John’s, where 55 per cent of consumers indicated they plan to undertake renovations costing $1,000 or more. This is followed by Halifax, Winnipeg and Ottawa (all at 50 per cent). The proportion of potential renovators is lowest in Québec City and Montréal (both at 39 per cent).

On the home purchasing front, six per cent of all households indicated they bought a home in 2009, unchanged from 2008. The largest share of homebuyers was in Edmonton (nine per cent), followed by St. John’s, Quebec, Ottawa and Winnipeg (all at seven per cent). The lowest share of homebuyers was in Toronto (five per cent).

Five per cent of households across the surveyed centres intend to purchase a home that will be used as a primary residence in 2010.

Home buying intentions are strongest in Edmonton where seven per cent of households reported that they are considering buying a home this year, up from six per cent in 2009. Purchase intentions are the lowest in St. John’s and Ottawa at four per cent (these were the only jurisdictions reporting lower intentions than last year, a decline from five per cent in 2009).

According to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), actual (not seasonally adjusted) home sales, via the Multiple Listing Service(R) (MLS(R)) of Canadian real estate boards, totaled 147,351 units in the second quarter of 2009 – the fourth strongest quarterly sales figure ever. Up 1.4 per cent from the second quarterof 2008, this marks the first year-over-year increase in quarterly activity since the fourth quarter of 2007.

http://blog.buzzbuzzhome.com/2009/07/mls-canada-fourth-strongest-quarterly.html

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC  Canadian Funding Corp CEO

The good news? Canadian real estate is on a record pace in 2006.

The bad news? The third quarter numbers are down sharply from the second quarter of this year, and even down from the third quarter of last year. What does all this mean?

It basically means that Canada’s sizzling real estate market is still hotter than ever, but that it can’t keep up the incredible pace that it’s been on.

Breaking down the numbers, Canadian real estate is down 6 percent compared to the same quarter last year, and down 2.5 percent from the second quarter of this year, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Overall, sales during the first nine months of this year are still up over the same nine months from last year, but things do appear to be slowing down.

The hardest hit cities during the third quarter slow down were Vancouver, home of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, red-hot Calgary, which is still booming thanks to the local oil industry, and Toronto. Sales in Edmonton, Alberta and Hamilton, Ontario are actually up for the third quarter, helping to offset the losses in other cities.

Proving that the incredible Canadian real estate market is still on fire, year-to-date sales records were set in various cities all across the country in the third quarter. Montreal, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Calgary all reported record sales for this year.

The average price for a home in Canada has been sky rocketing in recent years, with the total now at $258,000 (US dollars) up from $234.000 just in the last calendar year.

This real estate frenzy is being led by the province of Alberta and their incredible economy. The cities of Calgary and Edmonton, which reported their highest level of new real estate listings ever in the third quarter. Montreal and Toronto reported their second highest amounts of new listings for any quarter, as well.

The Canadian real estate market is still breaking records and making money despite the third quarter downturn. The breakneck pace simply couldn’t be sustained. But if you’re looking to move north of the border, do so knowing that it might cost you a few more loonies than you thought.

http://www.sexyinfotainment.info/2009/07/canadian-markets-hot-and-cold/

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, Canadian Funding Corp CEO

WASHINGTON (AP) — Employers cut a larger-than-expected 467,000 jobs in June, driving the unemployment rate up to a 26-year high of 9.5 percent, suggesting that the economy’s road to recovery will be bumpy.

The Labor Department report, released Thursday, showed that even as the recession flashes signs of easing, companies likely will want to keep a lid on costs and be wary of hiring until they feel certain the economy is on a solid ground.

June’s payroll reductions were deeper than the 363,000 that economists expected.

However, the rise in the unemployment rate from 9.4 percent in May wasn’t as sharp as the expected 9.6 percent. Still, many economists predict the jobless rate will hit 10 percent this year, and keep rising into next year, before falling back.

All told, 14.7 million people were unemployed in June.

If laid-off workers who have given up looking for new jobs or have settled for part-time work are included, the unemployment rate would have been 16.5 percent in June, the highest on records dating to 1994.

Since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost a net total of 6.5 million jobs.

As the downturn bites into sales and profits, companies have turned to layoffs and other cost-cutting measures to survive. Those include holding down workers’ hours and freezing or cutting pay.

The average work week in June fell to 33 hours, the lowest on records dating to 1964.

The worse news: as some economists predicted, the stimulus package was too small to affect the “real” economy – you know, the one you and I live in? – in any significant way. Sounds like those who urged Obama to think large and visionary (a la FDR’s Public Works Administration) really did have the right idea:

Reporting from Washington — Even as the nation’s economy begins clawing its way out of the worst recession in 60 years, there are growing signs that this recovery could come with an unsettling twist: The wheels of commerce may begin to turn again without any substantial boost in jobs.

Not only is the national unemployment rate, now 9.4%, likely to climb into double digits later this year, but it is also expected to remain there well into 2010, economists say. That would prolong the misery of the unemployed, squeeze retailers and other businesses, and add millions of dollars in government costs and lost productivity. It could even threaten the recovery itself.

Though it’s common for the jobless rate to keep climbing for a time after economic output turns positive, the aftermath of the last two downturns, in 1990-91 and 2001, introduced the idea of a “jobless recovery.” Even though the economy improved, many unemployed workers discovered that jobs as good as the ones they’d lost were almost impossible to find.

This time, many economists say, there are new factors that could make the problem worse. Many more layoffs in this recession have been permanent, not temporary.

http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/economists-say-signs-are-there-anothe

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

The Canadian construction industry may have been the engine of economic growth for much of this decade, but recent figures show that it hasn’t been firing on all cylinders. Canadian housing starts cratered by a much-greater-than-expected 19.9 per cent to 117,400 annualized units in April compared with March, the slowest pace of residential construction activity since 1996, according to figures released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation yesterday.

“Overall, the construction downturn continues to have a coast-to-coast footprint, with Western Canada and Ontario faring worst,” said BMO Capital Markets economist Robert Kavic. Much of that decrease was recorded in Toronto, where the volatile multiple starts segment, which includes condominium buildings, brought down the overall national average.

The seasonally adjusted and annualized rate of starts fell for the first time in three months in the Toronto market to 16,300 units, representing a 55 per cent drop from the prior month. The condominium segment fell by 65 per cent, while single-detached housing fell by 3.5 per cent.

“The economic fundamentals continue to point to further weakness in Canadian housing activity,” said Ian Pollick, economics strategist for TD Securities in a research note. “The housing sector is likely to remain a drag on Canadian economic activity.” One silver lining might be that a decrease in activity will finally chip away at the prior six years of overbuilding, economist Kavic said.

It was a point echoed by other economists, including Pollick. “We cannot ignore the fact that the reduction in starts is likely to keep inventories contained, which is a good thing during a recession.”

The CMHC points out that a high number of condominium sales in the Toronto market in the first half of last year will likely result in an increase in starts in the second half of this year.

But some of those projects may not proceed, since some builders have had trouble meeting the 60 to 75 per cent sales threshold banks require before loaning money.

For the first quarter of 2009 new home sales are 60 per cent lower than in 2008, and 75 per cent lower than in 2007.

Meanwhile, the Ontario Home Builders’ Association reported yesterday it was seeing increased traffic during the spring market after “an extremely slow period of activity in the winter.”

But the province’s proposed harmonized sales tax, which is expected to be implemented next year, remains a sore point.

“Just as builders were starting to see signs of life in sales offices in the early spring selling season, the province announced plans to increase the costs of new homes with a harmonized sales tax,” the builders’ association said.

Source: Tony Wong in the Toronto Star

http://toreal.blogs.com/toronto/2009/05/housing-starts-at-lowest-level-since-1996.html

A total of 28,669 homes traded hands via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) nationally in February 2009 on a seasonally adjusted basis. This is 8.6 per cent above seasonally adjusted levels in January 2009, and the first monthly increase in activity since September 2008. Seasonally adjusted activity in February also surpassed levels reported in November and December of 2008.

Monthly seasonal increases in activity were largest in British Columbia (14.4 per cent), Nova Scotia (12.7 per cent), and Alberta (11.9 per cent). In Ontario and Quebec, the monthly rise was on par with the national increase.

“Typically the Spring market we’re moving into generates more activity, and this year there are the benefits from historically low mortgage rates and improved affordability in most markets,” says the President of The Canadian Real Estate Association, Calvin Lindberg. “REALTORS® are reporting increased interest especially from first time homebuyers.”

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) transactions numbered 25,373 units in February 2009. This was 31 per cent below MLS® residential sales levels a year earlier, but it is the smallest year-over-year decline since October 2008.

The supply of homes for sale remains high, but has been trending lower. National MLS® residential new listings numbered 65,060 units in February 2009, down 10.9 per cent from the same month one year ago. On a seasonally adjusted basis, MLS® residential new listings are down 11.4 per cent from their peak reached in May 2008.

“The housing supply is expected to continue easing, but it will take time before it realigns with lower demand,” said CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump. “Economic uncertainty is keeping home buyers in a cautious mood, so homes are taking longer to sell than in recent years. Lower sales activity at the higher end of the price spectrum will keep the national MLS® residential average price under downward pressure.”

The national average price for home sales via the MLS® was $281,972 in February 2009, 9.2 per cent below February 2008. This is smaller than year-over-year declines observed in the past four months. It is also the first time that the year-over-year decline in the national average price has decelerated since first turning negative in July 2008.

The national MLS® residential average price continues to be pushed downward by lower activity in some of Canada’s more expensive housing markets and by fewer transactions in higher price ranges. The MLS® average home sale price remained up from year-ago levels in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland & Labrador in February 2009.

“Real estate is local, so it is important that buyers and sellers accurately determine pricing issues in their specific neighbourhood,” adds CREA President Calvin Lindberg, a West Vancouver REALTOR® .”Despite the doom and gloom, there are multiple offers on properties in some markets. That happens when the house is priced comparably to others in the area. Buyers are looking, but they are confused by the barrage of information they’re getting about the economy and the state of real estate. Consumer confidence remains a critical factor for the housing market.”

The downward pressure on the national MLS® residential average price is being skewed lower in large part by fewer sales in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, where homes are more expensive and demand has softened most. MLS® home sales in these three provinces accounted for 66 per cent of national activity in February 2009, down from 69 per cent in 2008.

The price trend is similar but less dramatic for the weighted national MLS® average price, which compensates for changes in provincial sales activity by taking into account provincial proportions of privately owned housing stock. The weighted national MLS® average sale price was down 5.3 per cent year-over-year in February, compared to a 6.1 per cent decline in January.

Seasonally adjusted residential dollar volume for MLS® sales totaled $8 billion in February 2009, an increase of 7.2 per cent from the previous month.

“Consumer confidence will continue to be depressed by a barrage of negative economic news in the months ahead,” said Klump. “Heightened job insecurity will keep many potential homebuyers on the sidelines. Those who are confident about their job situation will benefit from improving affordability in a number of housing markets.”

PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national MLS® sales information from the previous month. The Canadian Real Estate Association has previously released these separately.

CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighborhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas. Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types.

MLS® is a co-operative marketing system used only by Canada’s real estate Boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 98,000 REALTORS® working through more than 100 real estate Boards and Associations. Further information can be found at www.crea.ca.

http://realtorrayferris.blogspot.com/2009/04/buyers-drawn-into-real-estate-market.html