The past decade has been one of the best on record for housing in Canada, pointing to a 7.1% annual compounded return from 1997 to 2007, Re/Max said on Thursday.
The real estate company said between 1997 and 2007, average home prices in Canada almost doubled, to $307,265 in 2007 from $154,606 in 1997. Re/Max also says sales have climbed from 331,092 in 1997 to more than half a million last year.
Edmonton won top spot for greatest price appreciation, in the survey. The average sale price in the Alberta capital went from $111,587 in 1997 to $338,636 last year. Prince Edward Island led the country in improved sales, with the number of homes up 119% from where it was a decade ago.
"Never before have we seen such a continuous run-up in Canadian real estate. Clearly, strength in all markets has been directly linked to solid growth in local, provincial and national economies. Low interest rates, job security, and consumer confidence have all served to further bolster home-buying activity across the nation," says Michael Polzler, executive vice-pesident of RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada.
Re/Max surveyed 19 markets and found 12 had price increases of 40% to 60% over the past decade. The company said western Canadian markets generally outperformed the rest of the country.
"Immigration and in-migration have played a serious role in jumpstarting residential housing markets, particularly in British Columbia, Alberta, and to some extent, Saskatchewan over the past decade," says Elton Ash, executive regional vice-president of RE/MAX of Western Canada.