Home sales across Canada were down by 1.7% month-over-month during September, marking the first decline six months. However, activity was also 5.2% above September 2024 and, last month was the best September for sales since 2021.
According to data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), the number of newly listed properties dipped by 0.8% on a month-over-month basis. There were 199,772 properties listed for sale on all Canadian MLS Systems by the end of last month, up 7.5% from one year earlier, and the inventory level of 4.4 months was unchanged from July and August and the lowest level since January.
The National Composite MLS Home Price Index (HPI) was again almost unchanged (-0.1%) between August and September but was down 3.4% year-over-year. The non-seasonally adjusted national average home price was $676,154 in September, up 0.7% from one year ago.
“While there are more buyers in the market now than at almost any other point in the last four years, sales activity is still below average and well below where the long-term trend suggests it should be,” said Valérie Paquin, CREA chairwoman. “As such, we expect things will continue to steadily pick up going forward.”
