MLS residential sales across the country fell by a l most 4 1 per cent in January compared with a year ago, but affordability improved with average sale prices dropping as well, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Calgary Herald ArchiveJanuary MLS house sales fell 49 per cent in Calgary.

In releasing its national monthly data Friday, CREA said house sales fell by 58.5 per cent in Greater Vancouver and by 49 per cent in Calgary.

“Weak sales activity in January follows the CREA forecast that national MLS sales activity will be well below the activity of last year,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist. “Affordability has improved and will be better during the spring home buying season in many markets compared to last year. However, weak consumer confidence is likely to continue squeezing sales activity.”

The national real estate association also said recent federal budget initiatives for homebuyers will have an impact later in the year.
All the recent incoming data corroborate the view that the Canadian housing market remains in a corrective phase, said Charmaine Buskas, senior economics strategist with TD Securities.

“There may be some support for housing activity as a result of the federal budget initiatives, including the Home Buyers Plan and First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit,” she wrote in a commentary. “This should start to impact activity later in the year, though we remain generally pessimistic.”

For Calgary, combined residential sales for the month totalled 928 units, with an average sale price of $362,143, which was 11.4 per cent lower than January 2008. New listings also fell by 30.5 per cent to 3,767 and total dollar volume of all transactions was down 54.8 per cent to $336.1 million.

In early February when the Calgary Real Estate Board released its January numbers, board president Bonnie Wegerich said: “Indeed it is a tough market, but I am pleased to see sales picking up this month over December. Although our numbers are down from January 2008, we are seeing increased activity and more interest from buyers. Buyers will continue to have choice and affordability in this slower market.”

Nationally, sales totalled 16,343 units for an average sale price of $273,607, down 11.3 per cent from January 2008. New listings also fell by 14.2 per cent to 63,246 while total dollar volume was down by 47.5 per cent to $4.5 billion.