The prices for existing Canadian homes were flat in February, ending a declining streak that began last fall.
According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), nationwide home sales in February were down by 3.1% from January. The actual (not seasonally adjusted) number of transactions came in 19.7% above February 2023.
The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average home price was $685,809 last month, up 3.5% year-over-year.
“It’s looking like February may end up being the last relatively uneventful month of the year as far as the 2024 housing story goes,” said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s senior economist. “With so much demand having piled up on the sidelines, the story will likely be less about the exact timing of interest rate cuts and more about how many homes come up for sale this year.”
The number of newly listed homes in February inched up 1.6% from January. The 3.8 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of February was barely higher than the 3.7 months at the end of January.
“After two years of mostly quiet resale housing activity there’s a feeling that things are about to pick up,” said Larry Cerqua, chairman of CREA. “At this point, it’s hard to know whether buyers are going to wait for a signal from the Bank of Canada or whether they’re just waiting for the spring listings to hit the market.”
