Hot housing market in St. John's cooling off, surveys say

More cool water is being dumped on the once-hotrealestatemarket in St. John's, according to data released by two housing groups.

• Housing market in St. John's expected to flatline this year
• Low oil prices affecting St. John's luxury condo, commercial real estate market

The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation released a surveyon Friday showing construction activity was down in March in the capital city,after a small recovery inthe latter half of 2015.

Home prices have also been flat throughout the last year in St. John's, according to a second survey by Royal LePage.

In itsrelease, the CMHC called construction in the St. John's area "weak" in March.

"A lack of economic growth, mostly due to low oil prices, continued to restrain new home construction activity in March," said CMHC analyst Chris Janes in a press release.

Construction started on only seven housesin St. John's last month, compared to 15 during the same periodone year ago.

The CMHC's "trend measurement" a longer-term measurement of activity also shows that the housing market is slowing down.

As well, 2016 has seen a big drop in construction activity for "multiple housing" units such asapartment buildings and row houses.

In the first three months of 2016, only 16 units were started in these buildings,compared to127in the first three months of lastyear.

Price flat or falling

The Royal LePage survey of home prices in the area shows more dark clouds hovering.

Prices for bungalows and two-storey homes were relatively flat, both increasing less than one per cent over the last year.

First-time homebuyers in the city are benefiting from a buyer's market- Glenn Larkin

The price for condominiums plummeted, falling almost 10 per cent in the same time frame.

Across Canada, the average price of a home increased by eightper cent year-over-year.

Glenn Larkin, a realtor in St. John's with Royal LePage, said that the slow market did have an upside.

"First-time homebuyers in the city are benefiting from a buyer's market, which is providing them with more options and the opportunity to negotiate," he said in a press release.

Royal LePagesaid itssurvey is showing "remarkable"differences between regional housing markets.

The group sayshome prices in Alberta and Newfoundland are just starting to adjust to the oil downturn.