Housing demands remains high

The national average price of an existing home was just below 0,000 in August, and the housing market in some major Western cities remains tight with not enough supply coming on to meet demand.

According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., seasonally-adjusted new listings in August hit 47,117, remaining near the highest level reached in more than 15 years. "While additional listings are helping many local markets to become more balanced, listings remain in short supply in a number of markets in Western Canada," the CREA said.

The average price of a residential resale home in Canada's major markets rose to 2,989 in August 2006, a jump of 11.6 per cent from a year ago. Average prices set new monthly records in Vancouver and Edmonton.

Existing home sales, as measured by the Multiple Listing Service, climbed 1.5 per cent from July to 27,657 in August, the CREA said.

In the first eight months of the year, transactions rose 1.4 per cent and activity remains on track to set a new annual record in 2006.

”Economic fundamentals underlying the housing market remain supportive for housing activity,” said CREA chief economist Gregory Klump. ”Weakening U.S. economic growth is a good news for Canadian interest rates, as slowing economic growth in Canada will keep mortgage interest rates low and the housing market on a solid footing.”