Home sales across Canada increased by 11.3% month-over-month in April but were also 19.5% below the level recorded one year ago.
According to new data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), the national average home price in April was $716,000, a 3.9% year-over-year decline but also up by $103,500 from last January 2023 – the CREA attributed to “outsized sales rebounds” in the Greater Toronto Area and British Columbia Lower Mainland.
The number of newly listed homes inched up by 1.6% from March to April, although the supply remained at a 20-year low with only a 3.3-month inventory on a national basis. With demand still outpacing supply, the sales-to-new listings ratio jumped to 70.2% in April from 64.1% in March.
“With interest rates at a top, and home prices at a bottom, it wasn’t all that surprising to see buyers jumping off the sidelines and back into the market in April,” said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s senior economist. “Supply, on the other hand, has been sluggish, hence the price gains from March to April seen all over the country. Looking ahead, the first week of May did see a bit of a burst of new supply, suggesting some of those April buyers were existing owners now looking to sell their current homes. That could make for the kind of virtuous circle that might ultimately get more first-time buyers into the ownership space this year.”
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