Softness continues in Canada’s housing market as sales fall; new listings rise
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The Canadian housing market posted another lackluster month in May, as transactions edged lower and new listings increased.
Home sales, at 37,401, declined for a fourth straight month, remaining below the 10-year average, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Monday. New listings inched higher by 0.5 per cent to 70,858, hovering at the highest in two years. Meanwhile, benchmark home prices dropped to $714,300, the ninth straight decrease to the lowest since March 2023.
The Bank of Canada cut interest rates this month by a quarter point after a sustained period of tightening. Home buyers are likely waiting for mortgage rates to follow suit and for prices to become more affordable before jumping back into the market.
“A lot of people were waiting for the Bank of Canada to wave the green flag,” James Mabey, CREA chair, said in Monday’s statement. “That first rate cut is expected to bring some pent-up demand back into the market.”
It would take 4.4 months to sell the current number of homes on the market at the current rate of sales. That’s the most since May 2020, according to CREA data.
