A total of 42,483 homes traded hands across the country last month through the
The national MLS residential average price rose 11.3 per cent from year-ago levels to $324,779, a record high for the seasonally slow month of August.
Sales activity varied in various parts of the country, with about three-quarters of all local market showing increases from August 2008.
Existing home sales in the Toronto area continue to surprise on the upside of analysts' expectations.
The Toronto Real Estate Board reported 8,035 sales in August, up 27 per cent from last year.
Average prices were also up by 6 per cent to $382,921.
"The increase in demand for existing homes has been widespread across different housing types and price ranges," said TREB president Tom Lebour.
By the end of August, year to date sales were up 2 per cent over the first eight months of last year.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. announced the sale of its historic Windsor Station in Montreal as the country's second-largest railway continues to look at ways to improve its cash position in face of declining volumes.
CP said it had sold the station, pictured, and significant other related real estate, to Cadillac Fairview Corp. Ltd. for $86-million.
As part of the deal, the railroad entered into a long-term lease to remain the principal tenant at the station. The Windsor Station is the latest real estate deal CP has entered into in order to improve its cash position.
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian sales of existing homes rose for a fifth month in June, adding to evidence that record low borrowing costs are fueling housing demand.
Sales rose 8.7 percent to 41,304 homes from the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Canadian Real Estate Association said today in a statement from Ottawa. Average home prices rose 3.6 percent from a year earlier and the inventory of unsold homes fell to its lowest since August 2007.
Recent data on Canada’s housing market suggest the Bank of Canada’s efforts to stimulate spending with interest rate cuts are helping fuel demand for homes and may be reversing a slump in home construction. The Bank of Canada, which forecast that housing will shed 1.1 percentage points from growth in 2009, has cut its benchmark lending rate to a record 0.25 percent.