Home sales and prices trending up: CREA

April 19 2023



Canadian housing sales increased 4.2 per cent in March 2023 compared to February, and the average house price across the country is up $70,000 from January 1, 2023, to $686,371, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
A standout in March was a big bounce in sales in B.C.’s Fraser Valley—up more than 200 per cent from January.
The actual  number of transactions in March 2023 came in 34.4 per cent below a historically strong March 2022. The March 2023 sales figure was comparable to what was seen for that month in 2018 and 2019.
“As the spring market heats up and it looks as though some buyers are coming off the sidelines, it’s important to remember that the intense market conditions of recent years have not gone anywhere, they’ve just been on pause,” said Jill Oudil, Chair of CREA. “With buyers re-entering a market with historically low supply, homes are not only selling but selling faster.”
However, new listings are at 20-year lows.
With new listings falling considerably and sales moving higher once again in March, the sales-to-new listings ratio jumped up to 63.5 per cent—the tightest market in a year. The long-term average for this measure is 55.1 per cent, CREA reports.