Canadian Home Sales Down in January - CREA

Date Posted: February 20, 2020

Canadian home sales down in January

Recently released statistics by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show national home sales declined between December 2019 and January 2020.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• National home sales fell by 2.9% on a month-over-month (m-o-m) basis in January.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was up 11.5% year-over-year (y-o-y).
• The number of newly listed properties was little changed (+0.2%) m-o-m.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) advanced by 0.8% m-o-m and 4.7% y-o-y.
• The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average sale price climbed 11.2% y-o-y.

According to CREA’s Senior Economist Shawn Cathcart there has been a larger than normal drop in new lists at this time of year.

Mr. Cathcart was quoted as saying “The logic being that if you are a seller, you’re not just choosing when to list but effectively when to sell, so why not hold off until the spring when the weather is better, and more buyers are looking”

The question going forward is how many sellers are out there waiting to list their property, how much demand will respond, and how that will impact prices later this year.

The following chart, though shows an upward trend year-over-year, demonstrates where the Ottawa housing market (sales to new listings) fall in comparison to the rest of the country.

Home price trends have generally been stabilizing in most Prairie markets in recent months following lengthy declines. Meanwhile, prices are clearly on the rise again in British Columbia and in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH). Further east, price growth in Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton continues as it has for some time now, with Montreal and particularly Ottawa having strengthened noticeably in recent months.

To read the full release from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), click here

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