Building Permits Up Across Canada

One sign of the improved economy and real estate market is the fact that there are more building permits being filed across Canada. When the recession hit and the real estate market tanked, building permits fell as well as investors and builders became worried about being able to sell the newly-constructed homes. However, with the massive increases in the real estate market across the country since July of this year, many investors and builders are now getting back into building homes for those who need them. It couldn’t come at a better time for places like Toronto, which currently has more buyers than there are listings, which has created a seller’s market.

 Across Canada, building permits were up 18 percent for single-family homes and for non-residential projects. This is a big shot in the arm for the economy because the building permits have risen to $6.12 billion, which is the highest level seen since the beginning of the recession back in September of 2008. What makes the increase so amazing is that economists only thought there would be a one percent increase.

As a result of the increases in building permits, the Canadian dollar even increased. The economy even grew in the third quarter of 2009, with five times as many jobs being added to the country from what economists thought there would be. All of this is due in a major part in the surging real estate market across the country. This is exactly what an economists with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce verified when he said that the housing market is a leader in the recovery.

 Across the country, sales of existing homes were up by 74 percent from the levels they were at during the start of the year. Prices were also up by 21 percent, hitting an average of $341,079.

The surging levels in the real estate market should continue to June of 2010 as the Bank of Canada has pledged to leave the interest rates at their record lows until at least then.

 From January 2010 to June 2010, there is a good chance we will see the real estate market hit levels not seen since the mid-2000s, when the real estate market was setting records across North America. It should also be noted that while the real estate market is surging in Canada, it is still struggling horribly in the United States, which has been much slower to recover.