Home sales steady in July, CMHC lowers housing starts estimate

National home sales were little changed on a month-over-month basis in July 2013, according to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).

Read: Housing starts up in July

Key data from CREA’s report:

• National home sales edged up 0.2% from June to July.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity came in 9.4% above levels in July 2012.
• The number of newly listed homes edged down 0.4% from June to July.
• The Canadian housing market has tightened but remains in balanced territory.
• The national average sale price rose 8.4% on a year-over-year basis in July.
• The MLS Home Price Index (HPI) rose 2.7% year-over-year in July.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the western provinces are helping stabilize construction activity and momentum will build into next year but 2014 housing starts aren’t looking as positive as previously expected.

Read: CMHC restricts new guarantees for mortgage lenders

However, CMHC has lowered its previous estimate for 2014 to about 186,600 units, down 2,300 units from the June estimate of 188,900.

The Ottawa-based government agency is now estimating that between 177,100 and 188,500 housing units will be started this year.

That’s about 182,800 units at the mid-point, down from 214,827 housing starts last year but about the same as in the previous forecast issued in June.

“CMHC expects single-detached units and housing units built in the western provinces to account for a higher share of total housing starts over the forecast horizon,” said Mathieu Laberge, CMHC’s deputy chief economist.

Read: Expect weaker Canadian growth in Q3: Russell

Staff, with files from The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press is a national news agency headquartered in Toronto and founded in 1917.