Hi Friends,

Whether you are in the market for a new home or not, we would love to hear what you like about our new development, Homes at Hazelwood.  

Maybe you are a fan of the detached coach house suites?  Maybe you like the deck off the master bedroom or the oversize windows?  Whatever you like, just comment on this post on Facebook and on Friday we'll randomly give away a $25 Boston Pizza gift certificate to someone who left a comment.

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As was universally anticipated, the Bank of Canada opted to hold its target overnight rate at 1 per cent this morning.  Ongoing uncertainty in the Euro-zone continues to weigh heavily on the Bank's outlook. In its statement accompanying the interest rate decision, it was noted that the bank is now projecting a contained Euro-crisis, but also a brief recession in the Euro-area due to ongoing deleveraging and fiscal austerity. The Bank also expects continued weakness, but no recession, in the United States through the first half of 2012 before a resumption of stronger growth.

Overall, this morning's statement shows a very cautious Bank of Canada that is unlikely to make any significant movements on interest rates over the next two to three quarters.

It’s great news for buyers and sellers that we had another strong week in the real estate market, with the number of houses and condos sold both increasing.  Since the beginning of October, the volume of sales is up 15% for houses and 12% for condos.  However, this is not a license for home sellers to increase their asking prices!  The increase in volume is most likely because new listings have been more attractively priced than the existing, older listings.  At this point, if sellers start to feel over-confident we will quickly see their success grind to a halt.  As you would expect, with the volume of sales increasing, we are also seeing inventory starting to drop – for single family homes at least.  The inventory of available condos is still increasing, but it looks like it is about to plateau. 

The key to success for sellers continues to be to price your property sharply with the goal of selling is quickly.  Otherwise, it is almost certain that as your listing ages it will become less and less attractive to buyers.

Over the last 30 days, 241 single family houses were sold, up by 5 houses from last week.  The median price is up $7,175 to $542,000. The average house was on the market for 44 days.

In the same time period, 137 condos were sold, up by 14 condos from last week.  The median price is down $8,000 to $280,000. The average condo was on the market for 64 days.

There are now 2,159 houses for sale, down by 28 from last week.  Condo inventory has risen by 7 to 1046 suites.