Home sales activity increased for the third time in as many months in April 2009, according to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). The Canadian average house price also rose in April, to $306,366, within short reach of the record levels reached one year ago.

Seasonally adjusted national home sales activity climbed 11.2 percent in April 2009 compared to the previous month. This is the largest month-to-month increase in activity in more than five years. Home sales activity reached its highest level in seven months, with 34,838 units trading hands nationally in April on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The increase in April builds on gains of 10.3 percent in February and 7.7 percent in March. Seasonally adjusted activity now stands 32 percent above the lowest level in a decade that was recorded in January 2009.

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) home sales totalled 43,473 units in April 2009, down 11.8 percent from the same month one year ago. Year-over-year declines have been shrinking since dropping a record 42.2 percent in November 2008.

“Realtors know that several factors have led to this market situation,” says Regina Broker Dale Ripplinger, President of The Canadian Real Estate Association. “First, price adjustments in some markets have helped affordability. Second, lenders do have money for people and properties that qualify, although some are being more stringent. The third factor involves consumer confidence, which has risen in the housing market through the Spring.”

The last factor, CREA’s President adds, is that sellers have realised that realistic pricing is key, and that is very much driven by local factors. “Homes are only worth what a buyer is willing to pay.”

House Prices In Canada
April 2009

1 Jun 2009

Canadian average weekly earnings, including overtime, of payroll employees was $820.95 in February 2009, up 1.8% from February 2008.

In the largest industrial sectors, from February 2008 to February 2009, average weekly earnings were up by 5.6% in retail trade, 2.0% in health care and social assistance, 1.5% in accommodation and food services, 0.7% in educational services and 0.6% in public administration.

During the same period, earnings declined by 4.3% for employees in manufacturing as a whole.

Earnings declined for employees in most of the biggest manufacturing industries, that is, food; transportation equipment; fabricated metal products; machinery; and wood products.

Provincially, the strongest year-over-year earnings growth among the provinces occurred in Alberta (+5.4%), Newfoundland and Labrador (+4.5%) and Saskatchewan (+3.5%).

Canadian Average Weekly Earnings By Province
February 2009

Canadian Average Weekly Earnings By Industry
February 2009

Data from Statistics Canada

1 Jun 2009

Canadian jobs fell by 60,700 in March, down 0.4% from the previous month, as job losses across industries remained widespread. Since peaking in October, total payroll employment has fallen by 325,000 or 2.2% according to Statistics Canada.

The largest decline in jobs in March was for administrative and support services, which fell by 19,500 or 2.6%. This was driven mainly by falls in employment services and business support services.

Manufacturing continued to feel the effects of the economic downturn with a decline of 18,700 jobs in March, driven by losses in fabricated metal, wood product, primary metal, and motor vehicle parts manufacturing. While manufacturing accounts for 10% of payroll employment, 37% of overall job losses since October 2008 have come from this industry.

Job losses also occurred in traveller accommodation, full-service restaurants and in the retail trade sector.

Despite widespread declines, some industries experienced job growth in March. The largest gains included educational services, driven by an increase in universities, and health care and social assistance, with the biggest gain in nursing care facilities.

British Columbia
Jobs in British Columbia contracted 2.4% or 46,000 in March compared with 12 months earlier. Declines were widespread, with notable job losses in sawmills and wood preservation; electronic and precision equipment repairs; logging and general residential construction.

Ontario
In Ontario, the number of jobs fell by 113,700 from a year earlier, a decline of 2.0%, with the biggest losses in employment services, motor vehicle parts manufacturing, local, municipal & regional public administration and business support services.

Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan’s employment grew by 6,300 between March 2008 and March 2009. The biggest gains were in wired telecommunication carriers, other local, municipal and regional public administration as well as warehousing and storage.

Newfoundland &Labrador
The number of employees in Newfoundland &Labrador was 5,700 higher in March 2009 compared with a year earlier. This increase was largely driven by gains in elementary and secondary schools; other provincial and territorial public administration; support activities for mining, oil and gas extraction; and general medical and surgical hospitals.

1 Jun 2009