Home sales continue downward trend
December 1, 2023
chart source: CREA
Recent figures released by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show national home sales declined 5.6 per cent on a month-over-month basis in October 2023. The sizable decline was the result of fewer sales in most of Canada’s largest markets (see chart above).
“We’re only in November, but it appears many would-be home buyers have already gone into hibernation,” said CREA chair Larry Cerqua. “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,” 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 CREA’s senior economist Shaun Cathcart. “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 per cent 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 is at a 10-year low of 49.5 per cent.