Garry Marr  Dec 6, 2011 – 6:00 AM ET | Last Updated: Dec 5, 2011 11:33 PM ET

The Financial Post

Even one of Canada’s leading real estate companies agrees the rising housing market may not appear to make much sense.

But appearances are deceiving and Re/Max says both sales and average prices will continue to climb in 2012.

“Canadian residential real estate defied conventional logic and outperformed expectations in 2011,” the company said in its year-end report on the market.

Re/Max expects 2011 to finish with prices up 7% and the average home across the country selling for $363,000. The market won’t be as robust in 2012 but consumers can still expect another 2% jump in prices.

Sales figure for 2011 are forecast to climb by 3% from a year earlier with 460,000 homes having changed hands by year end. For 2012, expect less than a 1% increase in activity with only an additional 4,500 sales.

“The Canadian housing market has demonstrated tremendous resilience in recent years but 2011 stands out,” said Michael Polzler, executive vice-president of Re/Max Ontario-Atlantic Canada. “Instead of responding to economic concerns both here and abroad with a retreat in sales and prices, residential real estate markets actually experienced an upswing in the volatile third and fourth quarter.”

Re/Max looked at 26 markets across the country  and predicts 23 will show an increase in average price for the year. Sales were up in 22 of those 26 markets. The company says 81% of markets studied will see price increases in 2012.

Among the reasons cited for the Canadian housing market’s continued strength against the odds has been population growth which has gone up by 11% since 2000. Re/Max notes by 2031, the country will have 42 million people.

“Population growth and immigration are major factors expected to prop-up housing demand and household formation in the coming years,” says the company.

Condominiums are expected to continue to garner a growing share of the housing market with investment and income-producing properties in high demand. Low vacancy rates are said to have driven those markets in 2011 and those conditions are expected to continue.

OTTAWA, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Oct. 11, 2011) - The seasonally adjusted annual rate⁽¹⁾ of housing starts was 205,900 units in September, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This is up from 191,900 units in August 2011.

“Housing starts picked up in September due to an increase in multiple starts in the Atlantic region, Quebec and in British Columbia,” said Mathieu Laberge, Deputy Chief Economist at CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre. “Multiple housing starts are expected to move back towards levels consistent with demographic fundamentals in the near term.”

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 8.0 per cent to 185,900 units in September. Multiple urban starts were up by 14.2 per cent to 118,000 units, while urban single starts decreased by 1.5 per cent in September to 67,900 units.

September’s seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 47.0 per cent in the Atlantic region, 32.0 per cent in Quebec and by 18.6 per cent in British Columbia, while urban starts decreased by 3.5 per cent in Ontario and by 12.1 per cent in the Prairie region.

Rural starts⁽²⁾ were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 20,000 units in September.

As Canada’s national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of high quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable housing solutions. CMHC also provides reliable, impartial and up-to-date housing market reports, analysis and knowledge to support and assist consumers and the housing industry in making informed decisions.

For more information, visit http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca or call 1-800-668-2642.

⁽¹⁾ All starts figures in this release, other than actual starts, are seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) — that is, monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels. By removing seasonal ups and downs, seasonal adjustment makes it possible to highlight the fundamental trends of a series. Reporting monthly figures at annual rates indicates the annual level of starts that would be obtained if the monthly pace was maintained for 12 months. This facilitates comparison of the current pace of activity to annual forecasts as well as to historical annual levels.

⁽²⁾ CMHC estimates the level of starts in centres with a population of less than 10,000 for each of the three months of the quarter, at the beginning of each quarter. During the last month of the quarter, CMHC conducts the survey in these centres and revises the estimate.

A graph and a table are available at the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/chmc1011.pdf

Published October 5, 2011

OBJ Staff

Ottawa Business Journal

Members of the Ottawa Real Estate Board sold 1,202 residential properties in September, an increase of 12.2 per cent over last year, according to numbers from the board’s multiple listing service.

Of those sales, 280 were condominiums and the balance other types of properties. 

September’s figures were also above the five-year average of 1,160, the board noted.

Average sales price also increased by 3.4 per cent, to $335,765. Condominiums bumped up to $254,864, up 5.9 per cent annually, and other properties increased to $360,334, up 3.2 per cent.

In a statement, board president Joanne Tibbles noted local properties are selling in about the same amount of time as last year.