News Releases

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - June 15, 2011) - The spotlight is on Canada's west coast today; not only is game seven of the Stanley Cup Final on tap this evening, but Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney will also be appearing in Vancouver with a speech entitled "Housing in Canada".

Also on the housing front, Canadian home sales figures were released today showing existing home sales increased 2.7 per cent in May from a year ago – the first increase in a year.

"Sales have been dinged, but hardly hammered by the new stricter mortgage rules that took effect mid-March, with average prices up 8.6 per cent year over year, similar to gains in the three prior months," said Douglas Porter, Deputy Chief Economist, BMO Capital Markets. Vancouver reported an average price of $831,555, up a staggering 25.7 per cent year over year. The full report can be viewed at: http://www.bmonesbittburns.com/economics/econofacts/20110615a/econofacts.pdf.

Furthermore, BMO Bank of Montreal released results from a survey showing that nearly one in five Canadians (16 per cent) have been caught in a bidding war during the home buying process, with homebuyers willing to pay 9 per cent above the asking price. Regionally, British Columbians are most likely to have experienced a bidding war (25 per cent), followed by home buyers in Ontario, the Prairies and Atlantic Canada.

The survey, conducted by Leger Marketing, also showed:

• Those in Quebec are the least likely (4 per cent) to have experienced bidding war during the home buying process.
• The same is true about those living in the suburbs and urban areas compared to those living in rural areas (17 per cent, 16 per cent and 11 per cent respectively).
• 94 per cent of Canadians had a specific price range in mind when planning to purchase a home, while 58 per cent had flexibility in their budget.

The Leger Marketing survey was completed on-line from Thursday, March 10th, to Monday, March 21st, 2011, using Leger Marketing's online panel, LegerWeb, with a sample of 1508 Canadians, 25-45 years old, who plan to buy a home in the next two years.