Canadian Home Sales See Downward Trend Continue in October

Home sales recorded over Canadian MLS® Systems posted a 5.6% decline between September and October 2023. The sizable decline was the result of fewer sales in most of Canada’s largest markets.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) number of transactions in October 2023 came in 0.9% above October 2022.

“We’re only in November, but it appears many would-be home buyers have already gone into hibernation,” said Larry Cerqua, Chair of CREA. “The October numbers also revealed some sellers may be shelving their plans until next spring. That said, there are still a lot of people active in the market and looking to get deals done this year. If you’re looking for information and guidance about buying or selling a property in the current market, contact a REALTOR® in your area,” continued Cerqua.

“We know housing demand is extremely high all across the country, but October’s resale data was further confirmation that it probably won’t be manifesting itself in the existing home market for the remainder of this year and likely not until spring 2024 at the earliest,” said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s Senior Economist. “The rebound in activity this past spring was an example of what we might see next year. It will really come down to whether the Bank of Canada has to increase interest rates again, or whether by next March it’s simply a matter of how soon we’ll see the Bank make its first cut.”

The number of newly listed homes fell 2.3% on a month-over-month basis in October, the first decline since March.

With sales falling by more than new listings in October, the national sales-to-new listings ratio eased to 49.5% — a 10-year low. The highest level for this measure was 67.9%, recorded in April. The long-term average for this measure is 55.1%.

There were 4.1 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of October 2023, up a full month from its low of 3.1 months in May. That said, it remains below its long-term average of near five months of inventory.

The Aggregate Composite MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) declined by 0.8% on a month-over-month basis in October 2023. While price declines are still mainly an Ontario phenomenon, home prices are also now starting to soften in parts of British Columbia. The Aggregate Composite MLS® HPI was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average home price was $656,625 in October 2023, up 1.8% from October 2022.

- 30 -

PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national sales information from MLS® Systems from the previous month.

CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas. Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types.

MLS® Systems are co-operative marketing systems used only by Canada’s real estate boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale.

About The Canadian Real Estate Association

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry associations, representing more than 160,000 REALTORS® working through 72 real estate boards and associations.

Further information can be found at http://crea.ca/statistics.

For more information, please contact:
Pierre Leduc, Media Relations
The Canadian Real Estate Association
Tel.: 613-237-7111 or 613-884-1460
E-mail: pleduc@crea.ca