Year-over-year activity jumped in November as rate cuts helped spur a hotter market
Home sales across Canada spiked by 26% in November compared with the same time last year as lower interest rates helped jolt buyers into action.
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) said on Monday that 37,855 homes were sold last month, up from 30,042 in November 2023. That marked the second consecutive month of big year-over-year gains, with the impact of Bank of Canada rate cuts beginning to heat up the market.
The national average sale price was also up, rising by 7.4% compared with the same time last year as sales activity posted significant gains in Greater Vancouver, Calgary, Greater Toronto and Montreal.
Nationally, there was 3.7 months of inventory at the end of November 2024—down from 3.8 months at the end of October👉 https://t.co/ABP2i2Kfbk #CREAstats pic.twitter.com/4uToyx6dJV
— CREA | ACI (@CREA_ACI) December 16, 2024
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart noted that prices had moved materially higher across the country for the first time in nearly 18 months – and said activity could continue to intensify thanks to another big central bank cut this month and recent mortgage rule adjustments.
First-time buyers and those purchasing a newly-built property can now amortize their mortgage for 30 years, while the insured mortgage cap has been hiked to $1.5 million – meaning borrowers can now put down less than 20% on more expensive properties.
“Normally we might expect this market rebound to take a pause before resuming in the spring,” Cathcart said. “However, the Bank of Canada’s latest 50-basis-point cut together with a loosening of mortgage rules could mean a more active winter market than normal.”
New listings dipped by 0.5% last month compared with October, while the sales-to-new listings ratio was 59.2% compared with 57.3% in October.
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