Housing sales dipped slightly in November but the expected decline that was supposed to follow consumers rushing to purchase in the fall has failed to materialize, reports the Financial Post’s Garry Marr.

The Canadian Real Estate Association said sales last month dropped 0.1% from October on a seasonally adjusted basis while actual activity was up 5.9% in November 2013 from a year earlier. The theory posited by economists was that the fall market was the beneficiary of consumers taking advantage of low rates negotiated in the summer.

Many financial institutions offer consumers pre-approved mortgages, guaranteeing a rate for 90 days, so anybody who wanted to keep their rate needed to pull the trigger on a purchase. “The bigger picture is how well national sales held up in 2013 amid a torrent of calls for calamity in Canada’s housing market,” said Doug Porter, chief economist with Bank of Montreal. “In contrast to dime-a-dozen doomsday forecasts at the start of 2013, sales for the full year are now on track for a tiny gain, with the first 11 months showing a 0.2% rise from year-ago levels.”

Source Financial Post