Daily Market Update

Vancouver and Calgary continue to report price rises and sales growth, but Edmonton sees a “seasonal slide”…. Household debt on the rise, especially in the west… And consumer confidence falls for the first time in six months.

New high for Vancouver
Single family detached homes have reached new price levels in Vancouver. The home price index reached $2,273,000 in July for a detached property on the city’s west side, an increase of 9.9 per cent from the same time last year. The benchmark index shows an increase of 10.3 per cent year over year for an average detached property on the east side. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reports that the volume of sales is up by 3.9 per cent year over year. Read the full story.
 
Calgary’s luxury market also booming
Calgary’s hot market is pushing sales of high-end properties towards a new record level. Last month saw 80 sales of MLS listed homes priced at $1 million or above; increases have been recorded for the last 7 months. The total for the year so far is 542, up 18 per cent on this time last year. If the trend continues the record of 727 luxury home sales in a year would be smashed. Read the full story.
 
Seasonal slide means sales drop in Edmonton
New figures from the Realtors Association of Edmonton reveal a dip in sales of single-family detached homes in July. The 2 per cent drop to $426,716 is a “seasonal slide” according to the president of the realtors group, Greg Steele. Over the year, prices are up almost 4 per cent. For condos there was a 0.2 per cent increase and just over 6 per cent year over year. The big story isn’t the slight changes in price but the sales volume which continues to be high across property types. The month over month increase was 12.7 per cent. Read the full story.
 
Household debt on the rise
The average household debt in Canada rose by around 6 per cent last year according to new figures from BMO. The highest levels of debt are in the western provinces, with Alberta seeing a 40 per cent increase in the last year to an average debt of $124,838. Those in BC saw a 26 per cent rise to $99,834. In the east it’s a different picture, with Ontarians reducing debts by 12 per cent to an average of $67,507. The figures also show that mortgages are now held by 43 per cent of Canadian households and that house prices are the major reason for the increase in overall debt. Read the full story.
 
Confidence in economy falls again
Consumer confidence in the economy has fallen to its lowest level since February according to the Bloomberg Nanos index. As experts including the governor of the Bank of Canada have sounded a cautious note for growth, suggesting that it is moving slower than expected, the average Canadian believes there will be little improvement in the next six months. The part of the index that polls optimism on house prices, which has been running higher this year, also dropped back in the most recent survey. Read the full story.