The fallout from the tougher lending rules is continuing through February as sales and prices decline on the national scale. After a lacluster second half in 2012, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) adjusted its forcast for 2013. Total sales for the Canadian housing market are projected to fall 2.9% to 441,500 with the national average home price slipping by 0.2 per cent to $362,600.
February’s numbers show a 15.8% decline in sales, year-over-year and a 2.1% decline in sales from January, erasing the slight bump it experienced in the market.
CREA expects mortgage rules to remain the unchanged through 2013, which will further contribute to reduced volatility in Canadian housing prices. CREA also expects interest rates to remain low, which will continue to grow the economy and add jobs and in turn spur sustainable growth in the resale housing market.
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