The price of the average Canadian home hit $816,720 in February, its highest level on record, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.
The group, which represents 100,000 realtors across the country, said Tuesday that it was the second-busiest February ever for home selling, just behind the all-time high hit last year.
Some 58,209 homes changed hands during the month, and a surge in new listings in the latter half of the month suggests that momentum may carry over into strong sales in March, too.
The $816,720 average selling price is an increase of 20 per cent compared to last year’s level.
CREA says the average selling price can be misleading since it is skewed by sales in big expensive markets like Toronto and Vancouver. Simply removing those two cities from the numbers shaves more than $178,000 off the average, the realtor group notes, which is why it tabulates a second number, known as the House Price Index, to adjust for the volume and type of housing being sold.
But that metric is also going up at its fastest pace on record, up 29 per cent since last year. It increased at 3.5 per cent in the month of February alone — also the biggest monthly jump on record.
The pandemic has had a counterintuitive impact on Canada’s housing market. In March and April of 2020, sales volumes and price growth slowed to a crawl as buyers reacted to the uncertainty by keeping their wallets closed. But in the almost two years since, the market has been on an absolute tear, with record-low borrowing costs — which were kept in place to stimulate the economy through the pandemic — fuelling a thus far insatiable demand for housing.
If low rates are the main factor powering prices higher, the market could be in for a rude awakening as the Bank of Canada this month raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time in two years. Economists say there could be as much as another half-dozen rate hikes to come this year, which would take the central bank’s rate up to two per cent.
That’s why “the next few months could be telling,” Bank of Montreal economist Robert Kavcic said. “Demand has been boosted by expectations of rising prices and a last-ditch effort to lock in cycle-low mortgage rates,” he said. “But sentiment can change in a hurry, and this market could find balance very quickly the moment that it senses softer prices.”
TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported net income of US$357 million for its third quarter, down from US$364 million in the same quarter last year.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 79 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 79 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue for the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, totalled US$2.29 billion, up from US$1.84 billion in the same quarter last year.
Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.3 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 93 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 90 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Fortis Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $420 million, up from $394 million in the same quarter last year.
The electric and gas utility says the profit amounted to 85 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 81 cents per share a year earlier.
Fortis says the increase was driven by rate base growth across its utilities, and strong earnings in Arizona largely reflecting new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.
Revenue in the quarter totalled $2.77 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Fortis says it earned 85 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share in the third quarter of 2023.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 82 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
TORONTO – Thomson Reuters reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as its revenue rose eight per cent.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says it earned US$301 million or 67 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The result compared with a profit of US$367 million or 80 cents US per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier.
Revenue for the quarter totalled US$1.72 billion, up from US$1.59 billion a year earlier.
In its outlook, Thomson Reuters says it now expects organic revenue growth of 7.0 per cent for its full year, up from earlier expectations for growth of 6.5 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Thomson Reuters says it earned 80 cents US per share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of 82 cents US per share in the same quarter last year.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 76 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
