Canadian home prices average record $232,935 in November


Friday, December 24th, 2004

Eric Beauchesne
Sun

Home prices in Canada shattered all previous records last month as sales hit an all-time high for November.

The average selling price of a home was a record $232,935, 6.8 per cent higher than a year earlier, the real estate industry’s national listing service reported Thursday.

The average price surpassed all previous monthly records in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Newfoundland, and set new records for the month of November in all other provinces, the Multiple Listing Service report noted.

The news that the housing market remains hot came as Statistics Canada reported that the overall economy was not, with no growth in October for the second straight month.

As such, it’s not surprising that a survey, also released Thursday, found that Canadians rank a home as the best investment to make in the new year.

“Investing in their own homes, either through renovations or paying down the mortgage, remains the most popular place for Canadians to put their money,” insurance giant Manulife said in releasing the results of its fifth annual investor sentiment survey.

Sixty-five per cent of those surveyed said now is a good or very good time to invest in their own residence, while only 15 per cent disagreed, leaving a reading of 50 on the Manulife Investor Sentiment Index.

Real estate other than their own homes was the next most popular investment with a reading of 28, followed by balanced mutual funds with a reading of 17, fixed income investments at eight, and cash at one.

In contrast, 34 per cent felt now was a bad or very bad time to invest in stocks, edging out the 33 per cent who felt it was a good or very good time.

The results of the survey this month of 1,000 adult Canadians for Manulife by Maritz Research is considered accurate within three percentage points 19 times out of 20.

© The Vancouver Sun 2004

 



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