Canadian Home Sales Edge Back In February

OTTAWA — According to statistics released March 15 by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales activity edged back down on a month-over-month basis in February 2013 following an increase in January.
Highlights include:

• National home sales declined 2.1% from January to February.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity came in 15.8% below levels in February 2012.
• The number of newly listed homes fell 1.2% from January to February.
• The Canadian housing market remains firmly in balanced territory.
• The national average sale price was down 1% on a year-over-year basis in February.
• The MLS HPI rose 2.7% in February, the smallest gain since March 2011.

The number of home sales processed through the MLS Systems of real estate Boards and Associations and other cooperative listing systems in Canada fell 2.1 per cent on a month-over-month basis in February 2013. The decline reversed the small gain recorded in January, leaving sales slightly below levels seen in recent months. National activity has generally held steady near current levels since it initially geared down in August in the wake of tighter mortgage lending rules and guidelines.