Affordability is better now than it has been in a number of years.

Phil Soper, president of Royal Lepage, has reported that the market's strong showing has led some journalists to refer to the current conditions as the emergence of a real estate boom. He cautions us that he believes the increase in sales activity and the firming of house prices is the product of a normal market correction and not the beginning of another aggressive expansionary cycle. National homes sales activities are lagging approximately one month behind typical seasonal patterns and he believes once housing supplies return to normal levels that the economy will support modest pricing growth into 2010. With the availability of affordable mortgages and modest increases in home prices, affordability is better now than it has been in a number of years. He expects house prices and interest rates to remain relatively stable into next spring which could keep affordability levels intact.

I agree with this view - and it is good news for both buyers and sellers. This is a great time to be entering the real estate market and also a great time to be making a move up in home. And with a limited number of homes on the market, it is also a great time to be selling.

Kelly Mckelvie