sinergi

It was inevitable that the boom would end, and maybe that’s not all bad.

A New York Times headline caught my eye the other week: Housing Fades as a Means to Build Wealth, Analysts Say. The article went on to report that, while most real-estate experts believe the U.S. housing market will recover from falling off the cliff, many also feel that home ownership will never again produce the rich rewards enjoyed in the second half of the 20th century.

The London-area real estate market continued to wilt in the summer heat last month, mirroring a nationwide trend.

Canada’s housing market has declined sharply after last year’s boom, which helped pull the economy out of recession. National housing sales dropped 6.8% in July from the previous month and were down 30% from the previous year, according to the latest statistics from the Canadian Real Estate Association.

After rebounding in the second half of 2009 and early 2010, housing starts are expected to moderate in the second half of 2010. Starts are expected to stabilize at levels consistent with demographic fundamentals in 2011, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) third quarter Housing Market Outlook, Canada Edition.

Housing starts are expected to be in the range of 170,200 to 198,400 units in 2010, with a point forecast of 184,900 units. In 2011, housing starts will be in the range of 146,900 to 210,500 units, with a point forecast of 176,900 units.

Again, Tim Bailey has a really good article in the July 2010 issue of Canadian Home Builder magazine.

After a boom that lasted for most of the past two decades, Canada's housing market is very likely heading into a period of stagnation.

The latest figures on home resales tell the story, although you need to read them carefully.

After a frenzy of buying in late 2009 and early this year, the pace of home sales has fallen sharply. July sales were down by 30 per cent from the level a year earlier, reported the Canadian Real Estate Association yesterday.

The London area housing market continued its gradual recovery in July with 188 new home starts, including 148 single-family homes.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) reports last month’s starts were 44% higher than July 2009 when the market was still mired in the recession.

Single-family homes have led the recovery, up 121% so far this year.

CMHC analyst David Lan said much of the residential activity seems to be clustered around the hospitals.

Canadian housing starts fell in July for the third straight month and home prices rose less than anticipated in June, according to new reports that reinforced signs of a dampening trend in the housing market that is expected to continue into next year.

“We’ve seen a cooling on the demand side of the housing market for a good six months now and the supply side tends to follow that,” said Robert Kavcic, an economist at the Bank of Montreal.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of housing starts was 189,200 units in July, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The seasonally adjusted annual rate estimate of housing starts activity was revised up in June from 189,300 units to 192,300 units. This results in a month-over-month decrease of 1.6 per cent in July.

Residents of Ontario and B.C. are unsure about how the harmonized sales tax (HST) affects real estate transactions, a new study finds, and the confusion is being blamed for a slide in home sales.

Home sales in Toronto fell 34 per cent in July, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board.

TREB reported that there were 6,564 sales last month, down from 9,967 in the same month in 2009. Home sales were at the lowest level since 2002.

Home sales in the London area slumped in July, mirroring a trend across the country.

The London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors said 741 homes sold last month, down 21% from July 2009. Sales also were down in June.

An association spokesperson said the decline was expected, given earlier forecasts for the Canadian housing market.

"This is not just our local market, it is nationwide," said assocation past president Joe Hough.