The real estate market continues to be red hot in Oakville as average price increases hit double digits. And we can anticipate that trend to carry on well into 2010 because mortgage rates are expected to remain low.

The question on everyone’s lips therefore appears to be, is the recovery here? Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist with BMO Capital Markets, had some interesting comments on this during an economic forum in Toronto last week (Dec. 3). But first, some local statistics hot off the press.

House sales jumped a whopping 102% in Oakville in November compared to the same month last year and the average home price increased 10%, according to the latest stats from The Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board. There were 259 homes sold last month compared to 128 last year and the average price increased to $594,494 from $538,500.

In Milton, the news was just as positive with sales increasing by 93%, 137 homes sold last month compared to 71 in November last year. The average price increased by 19%, $363,264 compared to $304,758 in 2008.

If we look at the activity for the entire area for November compared to the same month last year, it looks something like this:

- Dollar value of sales: $2.86 million compared to $1.35 million.
- Number of new listings: 931 compared to 1,044.
- Number of sales: 678 compared to 431.

So where is all this taking us? Porter was speaking to an audience of home builders last week and admitted the real estate market had a miraculous recovery. In fact, the bust and boom of real estate activity – which saw double digit declines rapidly turn to double digit increases – caught everyone off guard.

“Housing at the beginning of the year was scary; we saw heavy selling and price drops. The market came screaming back in October and left the U.S. in the dust,” he said. The reason , he says, was because the Canadian economy did not suffer the same as the U.S.; that the panic here subsided relatively quickly and consumers began to spend with more confidence than south of the border.

According to Porter, the Bank of Canada will hold steady on low interest rates until the middle of 2010. Don’t expect serious rate increases until 2011 because the banks want to see if the recovery will stick before raising rates, he predicts. If he’s right, that gives us another year of low mortgage rates. He also says that inflation will stay at a manageable 1.8% to 2% over the next couple of years and that on an international scale, the global gross domestic product will return to normal, about 3.6%, after seeing its first deficit this year.

With countries around the world showing stabilizing economies and the banks here at home reporting record profits last week, that just seems to confirm we are well on the road for a steady recovery and that there is no pressure for interest rates to rise soon. Whether you are buying or selling, this is a great time to act.

Dan Cooper is an award winning Broker with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage. He can be reached at 905.338.3737, direct line at 905.849.3303 or through his recently relaunched website DanCooper.com. Be sure to catch the Dan Cooper Real Estate Education Series on DailyWebTV.com. For a free copy of his Guide to Oakville Real Estate or his booklet How To Sell Your House For Top Dollar, please call The Dan Cooper Team.