The number of homes sold in September fell 1.7 per cent from the previous month, breaking a five-month streak of rising sales activity, according to new data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
There were 39,938 residential property sales nationwide last month, up from 40,615 sales in August.
Benchprice of a house in the arkdecreased by 0.1 percent month-on-month and by 3.4 percent year-on-year. The national average home price for the month was $676,154.
The drop in sales occurred despite interest rate reduction in September by the Bank of Canada – from 2.75 to 2.5 percent.
CREA senior economist Sean Cathcart said the expectation of a rate cut was not clear until the “eleventh hour”, which could this means it will have a greater impact on October sales figures. If the central bank decides to cut rates furtherThis will also have a big impact on the future in the coming months, he said.
Regionally, the Greater Toronto Area and Winnipeg saw sales increases, but declines in Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver were enough to lower the average, according to CREA.
So far, city centers, including Toronto, have lagged in terms of sales activity, while homes in smaller towns and rural areas have been selling in large numbers, sometimes at record prices, Cathcart said. He saysThis September change indicates that these regional trends may be slowing.
But Kutchart says that the fall is not so radical in the grand scheme of things. Sales still higher than previous years – 5.2% higher than September 2024, and this is the highest number of sales for September since 2021.
“Things don't always go in a straight line forever. So I would rather call it a bump in the road at this point,” Cathcart said.
Longer term, Cathcart says Canada still faces challenges when it comes to housing supply. The supply of new homes fell 0.8 percent in September from the previous month, with a total of 4.4 months of supply available (the long-term average for this is five months), new data shows.
Cathcart says this means Canada needs to continue to build housing aggressively to avoid a situation where prices rise rapidly because there is not enough housing to meet demand.
“Our message to policymakers in Ottawa is to start building sooner rather than later because the supply shortage situation is here to stay.”
