Feb 18, 2010 - Residential sales activity in January 2010 was up 58 per cent from year ago, when national home sales activity reached the lowest level in a decade. Because activity began recovering in February last year, large year-over-year gains are expected to shrink over upcoming months.

The average price of all homes sold through MLS in January 2010 was $328,537, up 19.6 per cent from one year ago. In January 2009, the average residential sale price fell to the lowest level in almost three years. Year-over-year average price gains are being stretched by weakness one year ago, and are expected to shrink beginning next month.

Across Canada, the seasonally adjusted number of new listings on MLS edged up slightly in January to reach the highest level since November 2008. New listings rose in British Columbia, Alberta and Newfoundland, offsetting declines in other provinces. The actual (not seasonally adjusted) number of new residential listings was up 3.4 per cent from one year ago.

"The resale housing market is becoming more balanced in a number of provinces, including my own province of Saskatchewan," says (Canadian Real Estate Association) CREA president, Dale Ripplinger. "A more balanced market is likely to result in smaller price increases going forward, with buyers in less of a rush due to an increase in supply."

"January results suggest that the national resale housing market may be past the recent peak," adds CREA chief economist, Gregory Klump. "A few more months of results showing a cooling trend will be required before talk of a Canadian housing bubble begins to fade. It could take until the second half of the year before a cooling trend becomes evident, since home buying activity may continue to be accelerated in the first half of 2010 by expected interest rate increases, and by the introduction of the HST in Ontario and British Columbia on Canada Day."