Typically the time to buy is ‘at-the-bottom of the market. But how do we know we’re there. Well, usually you compare other markets and use those stats and make assumptions.

As history typically repeats itself, we know that the first thing you look to sell in a bad market is try to sell your secondary home—it’s a frill; you can do without it. Then, we the market rebounds, you look at buying while prices are down.

If we look at Canada as-a-whole, the indicators are all there. People are ‘bidding’ on homes in Toronto and they are paying ‘above-asking’! In Montreal nice homes are running-out!

As of October the value of Canadian building permits hit a 13-month high! Building plans jumped 18 per cent to $6.1-billion, Statistics Canada said Monday. Economists polled by Bloomberg had expected a 1-per-cent increase in the month.

The increase comes amid growing evidence Canada is climbing out of recession. The economy eked out an expansion in the third quarter of this year, while churning out 79,000 new jobs last month, two reports showed last week.

The release comes a day ahead of a Bank of Canada announcement on interest rates. The central bank is almost sure to keep its key lending rate unchanged at a record low of 0.25 per cent. Economists will closely watch its wording on whether rates will likely stay at that level until the middle of next year – even as the economy warms up.

The building permit gains were widespread. On the residential side, construction plans grew for the third straight month, as the value of single-home intentions hit its highest level since February, 2008. The residential side climbed 3.8 per cent, led by growth in Ontario and Quebec. Single-home plans increased for the eighth month in a row.

Among cities, the strongest gains were in Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton. The largest declines were in Kingston and the census metropolitan area of Québec.