Despite numbers that suggest homebuying intentions amongst Canadians declined in 2009, key market indicators in Alberta actually showed an increase over the numbers posted last year, according to a survey released by the Altus Group.

In Calgary, where homebuying intentions fell slightly from numbers posted in 2008, MLS® sales increased by 11%, going from 2,347 in May of 2008 to 2,611 in May of 2009.

The trend continued across the province, as Alberta was second only to British Columbia in terms of MLS® sales increases, with Edmonton posting a 19% gain over May of last year.

Calgary homebuyers also showed a strong interest in the condo market, as condominiums comprised nearly a third of all the actual and intended home sales in the Calgary market.

The number comes in stark contrast to condo statistics posted across the country, as of all the markets represented, only Calgary and Halifax experienced any increase over the numbers posted in 2008.

Based on the survey, adult lifestyle buyers will represent a significant portion of the market in 200, as between 16% and 22% of all households intending to buy a home in 2009 in the Calgary, Toronto, Halifax and Vancouver markets are 55 or older.

The survey was conducted in March of this year, and covers all buyers and intending buyers of a new or resale home in several markets across Canada, including Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax.

Also reflected in the survey was a shift away from purchasing larger homes in most of the major markets, as Montreal was the only centre to show an increase in the percentage of potential buyers who favoured larger homes.

June housing numbers released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Foundation (CMHC) indicate similar reasons for optimism, as the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts increased to 140,700 units in June from 130,300 units in May.

“The increase in housing starts in June is broadly based, encompassing both the singles and multiples segments,” said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC, in a press release issued by the company.

“In addition, Western Canada experienced an increase this month.”

According to CMHC, housing starts are expected to improve throughout 2009 and over the next several years to gradually become more closely aligned to demographic demand, which is currently estimated at about 175,000 units per year, a number that would represent significant increases across the country.

Locally, housing starts in the Calgary Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) totalled 434 units in June, 143 units below the 577 starts recorded one year earlier. To the end of June, total housing starts measured 1,981 units, down from 7,817 started in the first half of last year.

“While still down on a year-over-year basis, June’s performance represents the

weakest decline since October 2007,” noted Lai Sing Louie, CMHC’s Regional Economist for the Prairie and Territories Region. “Low mortgage rates and recent price declines are supporting new home sales, which should lead to further improvement in the months ahead,” he added.

Housing starts across Alberta’s seven largest centres totalled 1,446 units in June, up 1% from the 1,434 units started a year earlier. Starts in Wood Buffalo more than tripled in June, led by 294 apartment starts.

Grande Prairie, Lethbridge and Red Deer also recorded year-over-year gains last month.

More evidence of a rebound in the market was shown in statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA®), which indicated that national resale housing market activity bounced back strongly in the second quarter of 2009, above levels reported for the same period last year.

“Potential buyers who moved to the sidelines late last year when economic uncertainty peaked are returning to the housing market now that the worst of the recession may be behind us,” said Dale Ripplinger, President of CREA®.

Seasonally adjusted resale activity in the second quarter was up from the previous quarter in about 85% of local markets, including Calgary, where quarterly activity increased by 66%, ranking behind only Vancouver, which posted a 77% increase.

Strong upward momentum for monthly sales was sustained throughout the second quarter, as June marked the fifth consecutive month in which activity was up from month-ago levels.

Some 41,304 homes traded hands via the MLS® of real estate boards in Canada on a seasonally adjusted basis in June 2009.

This is up 8.7% from May, and represents the first time since January 2008 that monthly activity topped 40,000 units.

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) MLS® home sales climbed 17.9% year-over-year to 54,616 units in June 2009. This is on par with the record for the month of June set in 2007 and is the fourth highest level for activity in any month on record.

The national MLS® residential average sale price reached the highest quarterly level ever in the second quarter of 2009.

“Sales momentum remains strong going into the second half of 2009,” said Ripplinger. “Chances are good that the number of transactions in the second half of 2009 will surpass levels in the first half of the year.”

The national average home price also scaled new heights on a monthly basis, climbing 3.6% year to $326,613 in June 2009.

However, only 13 local markets posted new average price records in June, less than a handful of which are among the most active or expensive.

The strong rebound in sales activity, not price, in Canada’s most expensive markets is skewing average prices upward nationally and in some provinces, just as a sharp decline in activity in these markets skewed the average lower in late 2008.

The price trend is similar but less dramatic for the weighted national MLS® average price, which compensates for changes in provincial sales activity by taking into account provincial proportions of privately owned housing stock.

The weighted national MLS® average sale price was up 1.7% year-over-year in June 2009 -- less than half of the percentage increase in the unweighted national average price.

The supply of homes coming onto the MLS® market continued retreating in second quarter.

Seasonally adjusted MLS® residential new listings were down 16.9% from the previous quarter to 197,049 units, the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2005.

Nationally, the number of months of inventory was 4.2 months in June 2009. This is the lowest level since August 2007, and well down from the recessionary peak of 12.8 months in January 2009.

The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

The residential dollar volume for MLS® sales jumped 40.6% on a seasonally adjusted quarter-over-quarter basis in the second quarter of 2009, to reach $34.8 billion.

“Low interest rates have improved the affordability of homeownership, as have price adjustments in housing markets that previously experienced rapid price increases,” said CREA® Chief Economist Gregory Klump in a press release.

“Housing markets where negotiations recently favoured the buyer have become more balanced and the stage is being set for modest price appreciation as inventories are drawn down by sales.”