TORONTO — Sales of homes worth over $1 million increased in four major Canadian real estate markets last year, according to a report released by Sotheby’s International Realty on Wednesday.
The Toronto area saw year-over-year sales growth of 38 per cent, while sales of Vancouver’s high-end homes rose by 25 per cent from the previous year.
Growing demand and limited supply cut down the number of days that homes stayed on the market and increased the percentage of homes in both markets that sold over the asking price, the report said.
Sales grew by a “more modest” 16 per cent in Calgary and 21 per cent in Montreal, according to the study.
That trend is expected to continue into 2015, with demand to outstrip supply in the Greater Toronto Area and in Vancouver. Meanwhile, the high-end real estate markets in Montreal and Calgary are expected to be balanced, according to the Sotheby’s analysis.
The report notes that oil prices, which have fallen by 55 per cent since the summer due to a supply glut, could have an impact on sales of high-end homes in Calgary.
“We’re really watching Calgary very closely,” Sotheby’s president and chief executive Ross McCredie said in an interview. “There’s fear out there in terms of what 2015 is going to look like if oil stays where it is today.”
So far, the number of homes being sold has continued to grow in Calgary’s high-end real estate market. McCredie said while buyers may begin holding off to get a sense of where oil prices are headed, it’s unlikely that Calgary’s real estate market will go flat.
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