Canada's housing market is heating up
Home sales across Canada spiked by 11.3% in April compared with the previous month as activity in the housing market continued to gather pace.
New figures released by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) showed that 38,164 units changed hands on a seasonally adjusted basis last month, although the supply crisis showed little sign of abating with inventory remaining at a 20-year low.
While April sales were 19.5% lower than the same month last year, CREA noted that the yearly decline was much less pronounced than in previous months – a sign that the protracted housing market slowdown of recent times may be at or near its end.
The seasonally adjusted number of new listings inched up by 1.6% between March and April, to 54,355, but the actual number of new listings was around 26% lower than April 2022.
The actual average home price continued its recent resurgence, rising to $716,000 – up $103,500 since the beginning of the year, although still 3.9% below its level at the same time last year.
CREA’s senior economist Shaun Cathcart said it “wasn’t all that surprising” to see the housing market heat up again last month, with interest rate hikes seemingly at an end and home prices having fallen precipitously over the past year.
The first week of May saw a burst of new supply, he added, “suggesting some of those April buyers were existing owners now looking to sell their current homes. That could make for the kind of virtuous circle that might ultimately get more first-time buyers into the ownership space this year.”
