CLICK TO ENLARGE CANADIAN HOUSING PERCENTAGE CHANGE SCORECARD
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My notes on the Scorecard data above are from...
...the Real Estate Board's websites and refer to RESIDENTIAL UNITS ONLY. The different Real Estate Boards do not publish a glossary of shared terminology, nor do they use consistent labeling of data, nor do they report their data in a consistent manner. Inventory levels are difficult to monitor, some metrics appear one month but not the next, sometimes only new listings are tabulated, and sometimes total active listings are reported. The reporting boards like to spin their numbers and use adjectives like "balanced" when describing ballooning inventory and sagging sales, or they don't report current conditions fully but rely on references to past glories or year to date measures which smooth out near term trend changes.
CMHC is no better at producing clear transparent publication of data. They love to "seasonally adjust" as if real estate exists in a vacuum not affected by financial markets and global events. Or at the other extreme they tabulate minutia and leave it to the reader to assemble a meaningful picture. All of these (non-public) organizations represent interests that have reasons to cloak data when it suits an agenda. When monthly data are unavailable to draw a complete chart, I have used an average calculation between the months preceding and following the missing data point. The Ottawa Real Estate Board does not publish inventory details but leaves that up to CMHC and they are at least one month behind, and inconsistent in their reporting as well. On the Canadian Cities Chart I have used Ottawa combined residential prices because detached single family data are not published monthly. Toronto data on the chart are average Single Family Detached Dwelling prices in the GTA since March 2009 (when the TREB began reporting GTA SFD). Prior to March 2009, data are average combined residential prices in the GTA PLUS 24.5% which is the average percentage difference between combined residential and SFD over 24 months from March 2009 through February 2011. Montreal data on the Canadian Cities Chart changes from average to median price reporting at March 2007. CMHC stopped reporting average prices for Montreal as of February 2009. Montreal is usually late in reporting and sometimes I will publish without the most recent Montreal data point. Inventory Note: When available I use "Active Listings at End of Month" rather than "New Listings Added". Again, there is no consistency in reporting inventory from the various real estate boards or CMHC.
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