Sales Up for First Two Months of 2012, Re/Max Expects Healthy Spring

Re/Max released an optimistic report this past week, citing that the housing market in Canada is not headed for a cooling down period. One fact that is making the organization lean in that direction is the number of bidding wars starting to pop up in various real estate markets around the country.

In the report, 15 major population areas across Canada were surveyed. Of those 12 saw increases in sales when comparing the first two months of 2012 with 2011. More than half of those areas saw increases in the double-digit zone. The firm is expecting a strong spring sales season, following an early start because of the mild weather, the still low interest rates and increased consumer confidence.

The bidding wars were reported in Halifax-Dartmouth, St. John’s, Ottawa, Hamilton-Burlington, London-St Thomas, Regina, Saskatoon, Toronto and Winnipeg. The highest sales increase was in Halifax-Dartmouth, which saw a 35 percent increase over the first two months of 2011. Those sales were helped immensely by a new contract for $25 billion worth of shipbuilding that was signed late last year.

Saskatoon saw a 21 percent increase, while Saint John saw 20 percent. Vancouver did see a 16 percent decrease, but the homes are still the most expensive in Canada. The average price there is $786,695, which is $300,000 more that the average of other major metro areas in Canada.

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