Paul Martin’s Business Update – December 19th, 2014

The declining oil price appears to be taking the wind out of the sails of the housing market in Alberta’s largest cities and may even be showing signs in Saskatchewan.

BMO Bank of Montreal has just issued a report on the state of the residential market in the country. Nationally, the market is stable. Prices are steady and demand is matching supply. 18 of the 26 cities surveyed showed price increases below the national average.

That’s the country-wide picture. But when you break it down, the story is a little different.

Calgary has seen a sharp hike in the number of listings while sales are down in the first couple weeks of December. Edmonton is not moving quite as rapidly but the bank says when coupled with declines in November, Calgary’s housing market may be ‘rolling over’ and may well fall out of the three price leading communities which also include Toronto and Vancouver.

In Regina, the bank notes, supply is well ahead of demand which is resulting in lower prices: down almost 3 per cent over last year.

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