WRAPUP 1-Canadian home prices extend climb in September, but sales cool

By Andrea Hopkins
TORONTO, Oct 15 (Reuters) - A prolonged housing boom in
Canada showed signs of slowing in September as home resales fell
from a month earlier, especially in the energy capital of
Calgary, even as low interest rates lifted national house
prices.
Canadian home prices rose 0.6 percent in September from
August, the ninth straight monthly increase, and were up a hefty
5.6 percent from a year earlier, the Teranet-National Bank
Composite House Price Index showed on Thursday.
Canada's housing market has been booming since 2009, driven
by historically low interest rates and tight supply in the two
largest markets, Toronto and Vancouver. But there have been
signs of a slowdown in some places, particularly the
oil-producing province of Alberta, and analysts have long called
for a correction in prices.
The Teranet index, which measures price changes for repeat
sales of single-family homes, once again showed a two-track
housing market, with prices up in six of 11 markets, namely
Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Hamilton, Calgary and Halifax.
Prices declined from August in Quebec City, Winnipeg, Ottawa
and Montreal, and were flat in Edmonton.
A separate report showed sales of existing homes slipped in
September from August, hurt by declines in Toronto and Vancouver
- the two hottest markets in recent years - and in Calgary. The
Alberta city, where many of Canada's biggest energy companies
are based, has seen demand sideswiped by slumping oil prices.
The report from the Canadian Real Estate Association said
sales activity fell 2.1 percent last month from August. Actual
sales for September, not seasonally adjusted, edged up 0.7
percent from a year earlier.
"The (Greater Toronto Area) and Greater Vancouver made
sizeable contributions to the monthly decline in national sales
activity. They also rank among the tightest urban housing
markets in the country due to a shortage of inventory and supply
of land on which to build, which is why prices there continue to
grow strongly," said Gregory Klump, CREA's chief economist.
The industry group for Canadian real estate agents said its
home price index rose 6.9 percent year-over-year in September.
The actual national average price for homes was C$433,649
($335,486) last month.
There were 5.7 months of inventory on a national basis at
the end of September 2015, up slightly from the 5.6 months
recorded in each of the previous four months.
($1 = 1.2926 Canadian dollars)