Following a major crash, how has the market recovered?

With all the talk of a potential US-style housing crash, it’s about time to check in with our American neighbours and see just how well their market is recovering. The answer may shock you.

With all the talk of a potential US-style housing crash, it’s about time to check in with our American neighbours and see just how well their market is recovering. The answer may shock you.

“Sales of new single-family homes in the US surged by 18.0 per cent to 504,000 annualized units in August 2014 to mark the highest level since May 2008,” a report from RBC Economics, published Wednesday, states. “The robust monthly gain, which handily surpassed expectations for a 4.4 per cent rise to 430,000, built on a 1.9 per cent increase in July (to 427,000) that was initially reported as a 2.4 per cent drop (to 412,000).”

For years following 2008’s financial crisis, United States real estate has been an attractive investment for Canadian homebuyers and brokers who cashed in on record-low housing prices. Further, scores of Americans left their homes to rot when the amount of money owed greatly surpassed the value of their respective homes.

Those days, however, may finally be behind us.

“The sharp rise in August reflected solid gains across most regions of the country, with sales surging in the West (50.0%) to their highest level since January 2008 and in the Northeast (29.2%) following two consecutive months of declines,” the report states. “Sales rose modestly in the South (7.8%) and remained unchanged in the Midwest in the month.”