[Source - CBC News]
National MLS home sales will likely exceed forecasts for 2009 and 2010 after a monthly record was set in October, the Canadian Real Estate Association says.
National activity will reach 460,200 units in 2009, up 6.6 per cent from last year, CREA says, and it is expected to rise seven per cent to 492,300 units in 2010, according to a news release.
CREA, which owns the Multiple Listing Service, initially forecast in August that 2009 sales would be down slightly compared with 2008 levels, with 423,600 units changing hands.
It's the second time the agency has boosted its forecast. In May, it predicted sales would decline by 14.7 per cent.
"Significant weakness in activity and average prices seen in late 2008 and earlier this year is not expected to repeat in 2010, so 2010 will look a lot better by comparison," CREA chief economist Gregory Clump said in a news release.
The association has also upwardly revised its house price forecast, saying the average home price should climb 4.2 per cent in 2009. It originally forecast that prices would rise by just 1.5 per cent.
Alberta remains the only province where prices are forecast to decline. CREA predicts prices there will fall three per cent in 2009.
Average prices are forecast to rise in all other provinces, with gains ranging from a low of 1.5 per cent in British Columbia to 13.1 per cent in Newfoundland and Labrador.
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