Home buyers are apparently agreeing with Finance Minister Joe Oliver’s assessment of the Canadian real estate market....there is no bubble. Home prices across the country are rising and so is the number of multifamily units under construction. Clearly the Spring market is here and with the first long weekend of the summer behind us, sales and listing activity is on the rise.

 New freehold listings are up by 15.8% over two weeks ago. When you factor in some lower numbers due to the long weekend, it appears that listings have been increasing relatively steadily for the past two months. But increased listings also means better choice for buyers, more time to decide and fewer multiple offers. In fact, sales this week are off by about 50% from two weeks ago. Our research shows another interesting fact….multiple offers are slowing down from a high of 75% of every home sale to a more reasonable 54% this week. This seems reasonable considering the same number of buyers are looking at more listings.

 If we could call a champion in the real estate battle, we would have to give it to the condo sector.  Despite a recent Fitch Ratings Inc warning on condominiums, listings have been relatively stable for the last few weeks (averaging about 770 new listings per week) and sales have consistently kept pace. Again, the true temperature of the condo market lies in its ability to garner multiple offers on units and it is here that the sector is shining. This week 30% of the condos sold at or above the list price. Like the freehold sector the East is king where 75% of condos sold in multiple offers.