Housing sales up month-to-month, down annually

March 24, 2023

Home sales recorded over Canadian multiple-listing services (MLS) posted a 2.3 per cent increase from January to February 2023. Gains were led by the Greater Toronto Area and Greater Vancouver and, for most markets, were the first monthly increases in nearly a year.
The actual (not seasonally adjusted) number of transactions in February 2023 came in 40 per cent below an incredibly strong February 2022. This February 2023 sales figure was comparable to what was seen for that month in 2018 and 2019.
"February's data contained the potential of a more robust market to come, but to repeat the bottom line from last month, we won't know what the 2023 market has in store until the spring," said Jill Oudil, chair of the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
The number of newly listed homes dropped 7.9 per cent on a month-over-month basis in February, led by double-digit declines in several large markets, particularly in Ontario.
With new listings falling considerably and sales moving higher in February, the sales-to-new listings ratio jumped to 58.4 per cent—the tightest since April 2022. The long-term average for this measure is 55 per cent.
The average price of a Canadian residential property in February was $662,437—down 19% from February 2022.