Those seeking to move to Canada and take advantage of low Canadian property prices will be reflecting on the latest house prices news issued by Canadian Real Estate Association which shows a mix of house prices rises and overall prices falls.
Existing home sales in Canada were up 8.6 pct from last month which was the first month-on-month rise since September 08. The surprising figures come from the statistics of 28,669 homes which were sold in February.
When compared over the year this dramatic rise is put into perspective where the average home price fell 9.2 percent to C$281,972 ($222,025) from C$310,379 a year earlier.
Sales picked up in the western provinces with British Columbia reporting a 14.4 percent increase, while Alberta posted an 11.9 percent rise. Sales in Ontario and Quebec were in line with the national average. On the East Coast, Nova Scotia had a 12.7 percent monthly increase.
Meanwhile he Canadian Minister for Immigration Jason Kenney has confirmed the high levels of Canadian immigration would remain during this year, unless the Canadian economy took a massive dive
Minister Kenney
“Last year, we brought in 247,000 permanent residents,” he added. “And we anticipate and hope that it will be in the same range. Having said that, obviously the economy is very dynamic, it’s moving a lot, and this may have unperceivable consequences for the immigration program.”
However, the unemployment rate in Canada is rapidly rising, causing concerns that the Kenney should reduce immigration levels before overseas workers start to flood the market. According to Statistics Canada, in January, 129,000 jobs were cut from the economy, which is the biggest decline for thirty years and pushed the unemployment rate up to 7.2 per cent.
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