Housing sales boom now an echo

July 20, 2021

The resale housing boom that shook real estate markets across Canada earlier this year is now an echo as June marked the third straight month for sales declines, according to the data from Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
Early numbers suggest July will see even lower sales.
June also may represent the last month this year to see an annual double-digit price increase.
June sales were down 25 per cent from the peak, and below every other month in the last year, but still managed to set a sales record for that month—up 13.6 per cent from June 2020.
“Things have noticeably calmed down in the last few months," said Cliff Stevenson, CREA chair. "There remains a shortage of supply in many parts of the country, but there isn't the same level of competition among buyers we were seeing a few months ago.”
The national sales-to-new listings ratio was 69.2 per cent in June 2021, the lowest reading since last August, but still a seller’s market. The ratio has been steadily falling since peaking at 90.8 per cent in January 2021.
While average home prices have increased nearly 30 per cent from mid-2020, CREA expects June to represent the peak of year-over-year house price increases in 2021. The actual national average home price was a little over $679,000 in June 2021, up 25.9 per cent from June 2020. The national average price is also heavily influenced by sales in expensive Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto. Excluding these two markets from calculations cuts more than $135,000 from the national average price, Stevenson noted.