According to the MLS, seasonally adjusted national home sales activity rose 4.6 per % in October 2010. This monthly rise in activity continues the trend of similar increases in August and September.  So then, activity comes in at 13.3 % above July levels, when it reached this year’s low point.  Nationally, three-quarters of local markets also saw monthly increases in seasonally adjusted activity in October, with Toronto and Vancouver taking top spots.
There are further indications that the market is coming back to normal. Sales activity in October rested at the mid-point in between the recessionary lows of December 2008, and the record level high activity of December 2009.

October 2010 national sales activity numbers without Seasonal Adjustment consideration was actually s 21.6 % below levels for October 2009, which was a record month for activity.
There was not a single monthly decline in sales activity last year, indicating a rebound year. Also, record levels were reached in the second half of 2009. This had a resulting effect of levelling out large declines in activity compared to year-ago in national sales activity. Record level activity late last year is expected to continue stretching year-ago comparisons over the rest of 2010.

New residential listings on Canadian MLS® Systems increased 1.3 % on a seasonally adjusted basis in October.  Still remaining at 14% below the April peak of 2010 are new listings.

There is wide variance on both ends of the spectrum of national sales activity, but the highs and lows have mirrored each other, balancing out, since the spring. Over half of all local markets in Canada have seen this balance, equally distributed between buyers’ and sellers’ market territory, 14 % below the recent peak reached in April 2010.

There is still stability with the national price average, indicating a balanced market. The national average price trend has steadied for over a year, but only recently is this being reflected in year-over-year comparisons. The national average price for homes sold in October 2010 was $343,747- just under a percentage point from a year ago. For the fourth month in row average home prices held even ground with year-ago levels.

To clarify, the number of months of inventory represents the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity, and is a measurement of supply and demand. The seasonally adjusted number of months of inventory remained unchanged at 6.2 months at the end of October nationally, down from 6.5 months in September. This statistic is now a full month below where it was in July.