Market conditions were anything but uniform in 2010. We went from super-charged sales activity during the first four months of the year, to a marked drop-off in transactions in the summer and then in the fall saw sales climb back to levels that are sustainable over the longer term. The year will also go down in the record books as the year that realtors took a good look at the value added services clients are paying for.

Ontario -  Third Best Year for Existing Home Sales

Toronto- January 6, 2011- Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 4,395 existing home sales for the month of December, bringing the 2010 total to 86,170 – down by one per cent compared to 2009.

The average home selling price in 2010 was $431,463 – up nine per cent in comparison to the 2009 average selling price of $395,460. In December, the average annual rate of price growth was five per cent.
 
 "At the outset of 2010, we were experiencing annual rates of price growth at or near 20 per cent. This was the result of extremely tight market conditions coupled with the fact that we were comparing prices to the trough of the recession at the beginning of 2009," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Senior Manager of Market Analysis.
 
 "Balanced market conditions in the second half of 2010 resulted in more moderate home price appreciation," continued Mercer. "Expect the average selling price to grow at or below five per cent in 2011. With this type of growth, mortgage carrying costs for the average priced home in the GTA will remain affordable for a household earning an average income."
 
In December, the median price was $355,000, from the $349,000 recorded during December of 2009.

Ottawa - January 6, 2011 - Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 620 residential properties in December through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system compared with 687 in December 2009, a decrease of 9.8 per cent. The total number of residential properties sold through the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® system in 2010 was 14,199, down 3.6 per cent from 2009. The average price for 2010 was $327,225, an increase of 7.7 per cent over 2009.

The average sale price of residential properties, including condominiums, sold in December in the Ottawa area was $324,556, an increase of 5.6 per cent over December 2009. The average sale price for a condominium-class property was $254,776, an increase of 3.5 per cent over December 2009. The average sale price of a residential-class property was $355,860, an increase of 7.8 per cent over December 2009.

Alberta - Single Family and Condo Prices Slightly Lower in December

Edmonton - January 5, 2011- The average price for a single family detached home in December was $355,270, down about $10,000 as compared to the price in November. The average condo price dropped less than $6,000 to $223,454. The marginal price reduction (down 0.45%) continued a SFD slide that started in June when average prices were over $390,000. Condo prices peaked at $252,700 in April and have continued a relentless march downward since then.

As compared to December 2009, single family prices were down 2.5% and condo prices were off by 7.2%. The average price of all residential property sales in December was down 2.0% as compared to a year ago.

“Homebuyers are watching housing prices slide and may attempt to catch the market at the bottom by delaying their purchase but the low point is only evident about three months after it is reached,” said Larry Westergard, President of the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton. “Home sales are still happening each day and by waiting, the wary buyer may miss the ideal home.”

Residential sales activity in December was off 34% (784 sales) as compared to November but fewer homes (1,110) were listed and that reduced the available inventory by 18% to 5,721 residential properties on the Edmonton MLS® System. The average days on market rose from 59 to 66 days.

British Columbia – Stability Reigns in Latter Half on 2010

Surrey - January 05, 2011 - Stable property sales and a steady erosion of inventory for the last seven months of 2010 have brought equilibrium to Fraser Valley’s real estate market.
“Our market was a bit of a rollercoaster in 2010 with buyers appearing earlier than expected in the year, tapering in the summer and returning in the fall,” says Deanna Horn, Fraser Valley Real Estate Board president.

“As consumers regained their confidence in the overall economy, we saw a normalization of the market with sales at or slightly below average, inventory dropping and modest changes in home prices.”

A total of 895 sales were processed on the Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in December, a decrease of 17 per cent compared to November and a decrease of 29 per cent compared to 1,260 sales in December of last year. The Board’s 10-year average for December sales in the last decade is 1,020.

In terms of listings, the Board finished 2010 with 8,139 active listings, 10 per cent fewer than in November and an increase of 25 per cent compared to the 6,534 properties available in December 2009. December’s inventory represents a 28 per cent drop from 2010’s peak of 11,411 active listings reached in May.

Overall, the benchmark price for Fraser Valley detached homes in December was $506,145, an increase of 0.3 per cent compared to November and 1.7 per cent higher compared to $497,732 in December 2009.