Canadian home sales rise in July

Ottawa, ON, August 15, 2019 – Statistics released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show national home sales were up in July 2019 compared to June.

Highlights:

• National home sales rose 3.5% month-over-month (m-o-m) in July.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was up 12.6% year-over-year (y-o-y).
• The number of newly listed homes edged back 0.4% m-o-m.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) climbed 0.6% m-o-m and 0.2% y-o-y.
• The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average sale price was up 3.9% y-o-y.

Home sales recorded via Canadian MLS® Systems rose for the fifth consecutive month in July, putting them about 15% above the six-year low reached in February 2019 but still more than 10% below the highs reached in 2016 and 2017. (Chart A)

Activity advanced in about 60% of all local markets. While the monthly increase was led by Greater Vancouver (GVA) and Greater Toronto (GTA), sales there remain well below levels recorded prior to the mortgage stress test that came into effect in 2018.

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales activity stood 12.6% above July 2018. Sales were up from year-ago levels in most of Canada’s largest markets, including the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Calgary, Edmonton, the GTA and Hamilton-Burlington, Ottawa and Montreal.

“The extent to which recent declines in mortgage interest rates have helped lift sales activity varies by community and price segment,” said Jason Stephen, CREA’s President. “All real estate is local. Nobody knows that better than a professional REALTOR®, your best source for information and guidance when negotiating the sale or purchase of a home,” said Stephen.

“Sales are starting to rebound in places where they dropped when the mortgage stress test took effect at the beginning of 2018, but activity there remains well below levels recorded prior to its introduction,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist “By the same token, sales continue to rise in housing markets where the mortgage stress test had little impact due to upbeat local economic conditions and a supply of affordably priced homes. Meanwhile, the mortgage stress test is doing no favours for homebuyers and sellers alike in places facing challenging local economic prospects and subdued consumer sentiment.”

The number of newly listed homes edged back by 0.4% in July. There was an almost even split between the number of local markets where new listings rose and those where they eased. The increase in new listings in Calgary, the GTA and Edmonton offset a decline in new listings in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia and Montreal.

The monthly sales increase together with a marginal monthly decline in new listings resulted in the national sales-to-new listings ratio tightening to 59.8% in July from 57.6% recorded in June. This marks its tightest reading and the biggest deviation above its long-term average (of 53.6%) in the past year.

Considering the degree and duration to which market balance readings are above or below their long-term averages is the best way of gauging whether local housing market conditions favour buyers or sellers. Market balance measures that are within one standard deviation of their long-term average are generally consistent with balanced market conditions.

Based on a comparison of the sales-to-new listings ratio with the long-term average, about three-quarters of all local markets were in balanced market territory in July 2019. Of the remainder, all but a few Prairie markets were above the long-term average.

The number of months of inventory is another important measure of the balance between sales and the supply of listings. It represents how long it would take to liquidate current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

There were 4.7 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of July 2019 – the lowest level since December 2017. While remaining close to its long-term average of 5.3 months, this measure of market balance has increasingly been retreating below it.

While national measures of market balance are still generally in the ballpark of their long-term averages and indicate supply and demand are fairly well balanced, there are significant regional variations.

The number of months of inventory has swollen far beyond long-term averages in Prairie provinces and Newfoundland & Labrador, giving homebuyers ample choice in these regions. By contrast, the measure remains well below long-term averages in Ontario and Maritime provinces, resulting in increased competition among buyers for listings and fertile ground for price gains.

The Aggregate Composite MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) rose 0.6% m-o-m in July 2019, the largest increase in over 2 years.

Seasonally adjusted MLS® HPI readings in July were up from the previous month in 11 of the 18 markets tracked by the index. July’s trends were generally in line with June’s, with virtually all of the gains recorded in housing markets east of the Prairie region.

Prices were flat on a m-o-m basis across the Prairies, with the only material declines posted in the GVA (-0.6%) and Fraser Valley (-0.4%), where declines were smaller than those posted in June.

By contrast, monthly gains were posted in Barrie (+1.9%), Oakville (+1.8%), Greater Moncton (+1%), the GTA (+0.9%), Guelph (+0.8%), Ottawa (+0.8%), Greater Montreal (+0.7%), Hamilton (+0.3%) and the Niagara Region (+0.3%).

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) Aggregate Composite MLS® HPI edged up by 0.2% y-o-y in July 2019 – the first increase since January. (Chart B)

Two-storey single-family home prices edged up 0.3% y-o-y in July, while prices for one-storey single family homes and condo apartment units held steady. By contrast, townhouse/row prices retreated by 0.7% y-o-y.

A comparison of home prices to year-ago levels yields considerable variations across the country, with the main theme being declines in western Canada and price gains in central and eastern Canada.

Results remain mixed in British Columbia, with prices down on a y-o-y basis in Greater Vancouver (-9.4%), the Fraser Valley (-6.7%) and the Okanagan Valley (-0.9%). Meanwhile, prices were up 1.2% in Victoria and climbed 3.4% elsewhere on Vancouver Island.

Among Greater Golden Horseshoe housing markets tracked by the index, MLS® HPI benchmark home prices were up from year-ago levels in Guelph (+6.9%), the Niagara Region (+5.9%), Hamilton-Burlington (+5%), Oakville-Milton (+5%) and the GTA (+4.4%). By contrast, home prices in Barrie held below year-ago levels (-1.3%).

Across the Prairies, supply remains historically elevated relative to sales and home prices remain below year-ago levels. Benchmark prices were down by 3.5% in Calgary, 3.2% in Edmonton, 4.4% in Regina and 1.3% in Saskatoon. The home pricing environment will likely remain weak in these cities until demand and supply return to better balance.

Home prices rose 8.9% y-o-y in Ottawa (led by a 13.7% increase in townhouse/row unit prices), 7.3% in Greater Montreal (led by an 8.5% increase in apartment unit prices), and 2.4% in Greater Moncton (led by a 28.4% jump in apartment unit prices). (Table 1)

The MLS® HPI provides the best way to gauge price trends, because averages are strongly distorted by changes in the mix of sales activity from one month to the next.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold in July 2019 was just under $499,000, up 3.9% from the same month last year.

The national average price is heavily skewed by sales in the GVA and GTA, two of Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets. Excluding these two markets from calculations cuts more than $105,000 from the national average price, trimming it to less than $393,000.

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PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national sales information from MLS® Systems from the previous month.

CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas. Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types.

MLS® Systems are co-operative marketing systems used only by Canada’s real estate Boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 130,000 REALTORS® working through 90 real estate boards and associations.

Further information can be found at http://crea.ca/statistics.

For more information, please contact:

Pierre Leduc, Media Relations
The Canadian Real Estate Association
Tel.: 613-237-7111 or 613-884-1460
E-mail: pleduc@crea.ca

Canadian home sales hold steady in June

Ottawa, ON, July 15, 2019 – Statistics released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show national home sales were little changed in June 2019 from the previous month.

Highlights:

• National home sales edged back 0.2% month-over-month (m-o-m) in June.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity ticked up 0.3% year-over-year (y-o-y).
• The number of newly listed homes rose 0.8% m-o-m.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) climbed 0.3% m-o-m in June but was down 0.3% y-o-y.
• The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average sale price was up 1.7% y-o-y.

Home sales recorded via Canadian MLS® Systems were little changed in June 2019 following a string of monthly gains recorded in March, April and May. Although running close to its 10-year average and up nearly 10% from the six-year low reached in February 2019, activity remains well below levels recorded over much of 2015, 2016 and 2017. (Chart A)

The nearly unchanged national tally in June was the result of an even split between the number of local markets where sales were up and those where they were down. Larger monthly gains were generally focused in the province of Quebec and in Southern Ontario. Those gains were offset by declines in a diverse mix of markets across Canada, including Greater Vancouver (GVA), Calgary, Halifax-Dartmouth and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales activity edged up 0.3% compared to June 2018, with gains in Greater Toronto (GTA) and Montreal offsetting declines in B.C.

“Sales activity is strong in New Brunswick where I do business, but it’s a very different story in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan,” said Jason Stephen, CREA’s President. “All real estate is local. Nobody knows that better than a professional REALTOR®, who is your best source for information and guidance when negotiating the sale or purchase of a home,” said Stephen.

“There’s a growing divergence in Canadian housing market trends between eastern and western Canada,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “While sales activity in Canada’s three westernmost provinces appears to have stopped deteriorating, it will be some time before supply and demand there becomes better balanced and the outlook for home prices improves.”

The number of newly listed homes edged up 0.8% in June. Stable sales and a slight increase in new listings caused the national sales-to-new listings ratio to ease marginally to 57.1% in June from 57.7% posted in May. This measure remains within close reach of its long-term average of 53.5%.

Considering the degree and duration to which market balance readings are above or below their long-term averages is the best way of gauging whether local housing market conditions favour buyers or sellers. Market balance measures that are within one standard deviation of their long-term average are generally consistent with balanced market conditions.

Based on a comparison of the sales-to-new listings ratio with the long-term average, over 80% of all local markets were in balanced market territory in June 2019, the largest share in over three years.

The number of months of inventory is another important measure of the balance between sales and the supply of listings. It represents how long it would take to liquidate current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

There were 5 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of June 2019. While this is its lowest level since January 2018, this measure of market balance remains within close reach of its long-term average of 5.3 months.

While national measures of market balance are currently close to their long-term averages, which indicates a good balance between supply and demand, there are significant regional variations.

The number of months of inventory has swollen far beyond long-term averages in Prairie provinces and Newfoundland & Labrador, giving homebuyers ample choice in these regions. By contrast, the measure remains well below long-term averages in Ontario and the Maritime provinces, resulting in increased competition among buyers for listings and fertile ground for price gains.

Although the seasonally adjusted Aggregate Composite MLS® HPI rose 0.3% in June 2019 from the month before, it was still running 1.1% below the peak reached in December 2018. Looking past monthly variations, the overall trend has remained stable since March amid divergent regional trends. (Chart B)

Seasonally adjusted MLS® HPI readings in June were up from the previous month in 9 of the 18 markets tracked by the index, with virtually all of the gains recorded in housing markets east of the Prairie region.

Prices were flat on a m-o-m basis on Vancouver Island and in Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon and Moncton. Material declines were limited to the GVA (-1.3%), the Fraser Valley ( 0.8%) and the Okanagan Valley (-0.5%).

By contrast, monthly gains were posted in Barrie (+1.4%), Hamilton (+1.3%), Niagara (+1.2%), Guelph (+1.1%), Ottawa (+0.7%), Greater Montreal (+0.7%), the GTA (+0.6%) and Oakville (0.3%).

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) Aggregate Composite MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) edged down by -0.3% y-o-y in June 2019. For the second month in a row, all benchmark property categories tracked by the index posted y-o-y declines.

Two-storey single-family home prices were little changed from last June, edging back 0.1%. By comparison, one-storey single-family home prices posted the largest y-o-y decline (-0.8%) among benchmark property categories. Meanwhile, townhouse/row prices were down by 0.7% y-o-y and apartment unit prices edged back by 0.4%.

Y-o-y trends continue to vary widely across the country, with the main theme being a growing divergence in trends between eastern and western Canada.

Results remain mixed in British Columbia, with prices down on a y-o-y basis in Greater Vancouver (-9.6%), the Fraser Valley (-6.6%) and the Okanagan Valley (-0.8%). Meanwhile, prices edged up 0.5% in Victoria and climbed 4.2% elsewhere on Vancouver Island.

Among Greater Golden Horseshoe housing markets tracked by the index, MLS® HPI benchmark home prices were up from year-ago levels in Guelph (+6.8%), the Niagara Region (+6.7%), Hamilton-Burlington (+5.4%), the GTA (+3.6%) and Oakville-Milton (+3%). By contrast, home prices in Barrie held below year-ago levels (-2.4%).

Across the Prairies, supply remains historically elevated relative to sales and home prices remain below year-ago levels. Benchmark prices were down by 3.9% in Calgary, 3.2% in Edmonton, 4% in Regina and 1.1% in Saskatoon. The home pricing environment will likely remain weak in these cities until demand and supply return to better balance.

Home prices rose 8.3% y-o-y in Ottawa (led by a 13.2% increase in townhouse/row unit prices), 6.7% in Greater Montreal (led by an 8% increase in apartment unit prices), and 1.3% in Greater Moncton (led by an 18.4% increase in apartment unit prices). (Table 1)

The MLS® HPI provides the best way to gauge price trends, as averages are strongly distorted by changes in the mix of sales activity from one month to the next.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold in June 2019 was just under $505,500, up 1.7% from the same month in 2018.

The national average price is heavily skewed by sales in the GVA and GTA, two of Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets. Excluding these two markets from calculations cuts almost $106,000 from the national average price, trimming it to less than $400,000.

– 30 –

PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national sales information from MLS® Systems from the previous month. 

CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas. Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types. 

MLS® Systems are co-operative marketing systems used only by Canada’s real estate Boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale. 

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 130,000 REALTORS® working through some 90 real estate Boards and Associations.

Further information can be found at http://crea.ca/statistics.

For more information, please contact:

Pierre Leduc, Media Relations
The Canadian Real Estate Association
Tel.: 613-237-7111 or 613-884-1460
E-mail: pleduc@crea.ca

Canadian home sales rise again in May 2019

Ottawa, ON, June 14, 2019 – Statistics released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show national home sales climbed further in May 2019.

Highlights:

• National home sales rose 1.9% month-over-month (m-o-m) in May.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was up 6.7% year-over-year (y-o-y).
• The number of newly listed homes edged back by 1.2% m-o-m.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) fell 0.2% m-o-m in May, the fifth straight decline.
• The actual (not seasonally adjusted) MLS® HPI stood 0.6% below May 2018.
• The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average sale price was up 1.8% y-o-y.

Home sales recorded via Canadian MLS® Systems rose by 1.9% in May 2019. Together with monthly gains in March and April, activity in May reached the highest level since January 2018. While sales stood 8.9% above the six-year low reached in February 2019, this latest increase has only just returned levels to their historical average. (Chart A)

While May sales were only up in half of all local markets, that list included almost all large markets, led by gains in both the Greater Vancouver (GVA) and Greater Toronto (GTA) areas.

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales activity was up 6.7% compared to May 2018, marking the largest y-o-y gain recorded since the summer of 2016. The increase returned sales in line with the 10-year average for the month of May. While about two-thirds of local markets posted y-o-y gains for the month, the national increase was dominated by improving sales trends in the GTA, which accounted for close to half of the overall increase.

“Home price trends and market balance continues to differ significantly among Canadian housing markets,” said Jason Stephen, CREA’s President. “All real estate is local. No matter where you are, a professional REALTOR® is your best source for information and guidance in negotiations to purchase or sell a home during these changing times,” said Stephen.

“The mortgage stress-test continues to present challenges for home buyers in housing markets where they have plenty of homes to choose from but are forced by the test to save up a bigger down payment,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “Hopefully the stress-test can be fine tuned to enable home buyers to qualify for mortgage financing sooner without causing prices to shoot up.”

The number of newly listed homes edged back by 1.2% in May. With sales up and new listings down, the national sales-to-new listings ratio tightened to 57.4% in May compared to 55.7% in April. That said, the measure is still within close reach of its long-term average of 53.5%.

Considering the degree and duration to which market balance readings are above or below their long-term averages is the best way of gauging whether local housing market conditions favour buyers or sellers. Market balance measures that are within one standard deviation of their long-term average are generally consistent with balanced market conditions.

Based on a comparison of the sales-to-new listings ratio with the long-term average, almost three-quarters of all local markets were in balanced market territory in May 2019.

The number of months of inventory is another important measure of the balance between sales and the supply of listings. It represents how long it would take to liquidate current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

There were 5.1 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of May 2019, down from 5.3 in April and 5.6 months back in February. Like the sales-to-new listings ratio, the number of months of inventory is within close reach its long-term average of 5.3 months.

Housing market balance varies significantly by region. The number of months of inventory has swollen far beyond long-term averages in Prairie provinces and Newfoundland & Labrador, giving homebuyers in those parts of the country ample choice. By contrast, the measure remains well below long-term averages for Ontario and Maritime provinces, resulting in increased competition among buyers for listings and fertile ground for price gains.

MLS® HPI data are now available on a seasonally adjusted basis in addition to the actual (not seasonally adjusted) figures. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Aggregate Composite MLS® HPI edged down 0.2% in May 2019 compared to April and stood 1.4% below the peak reached in December 2018.

Seasonally adjusted MLS® HPI readings in May were up from the previous month in 12 of the 18 markets tracked by the index; however, home price declines in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia contributed to the monthly decline in the overall index. Markets where prices rose in May from the month before include Victoria (0.5%), Edmonton (0.2%), Saskatoon (0.4%), Ottawa (0.7%), Niagara (0.2%), Oakville (0.8%), Guelph (0.5%), Barrie (3.6%), Montreal (0.5%) and Greater Moncton (0.5%), with gains of 0.1% in the GTA and Regina. By contrast, readings were down from the month before in the GVA (-1.0%), Fraser Valley (-1.1%), the Okanagan Valley (-1.3%), Calgary (-0.1%) and Hamilton (-0.7%), while holding steady on Vancouver Island outside Victoria.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) Aggregate Composite MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) edged down by -0.6% y-o-y in May 2019. While small, it was nonetheless the largest decline in almost a decade. (Chart B)

All benchmark property categories tracked by the index posted y-o-y declines in May 2019. Townhouse/row and apartment unit prices were little changed from last May, edging back by just 0.2%. By comparison, two-storey single-family home prices were down 0.5% y-o-y and one-storey single-family home prices fell 1.7% y-o-y.

Trends continue to vary widely among the 18 housing markets tracked by the MLS® HPI. Results remain

mixed in British Columbia, with prices down on a y-o-y basis in the GVA (-8.9%), the Fraser Valley (-5.9%) and the Okanagan Valley (-0.7%). Meanwhile, prices edged up 1% in Victoria and climbed 4.7% elsewhere on Vancouver Island.

Among Greater Golden Horseshoe housing markets tracked by the index, MLS® HPI benchmark home prices were up from year-ago levels in Guelph (+5.7%), the Niagara Region (+5.4%), Hamilton-Burlington (+3.4%), Oakville-Milton (+3.4%) and the GTA (+3.1%). By contrast, home prices in Barrie and District held below year-ago levels (-6.1%).

Across the Prairies, supply remains historically elevated relative to sales and home prices remain below year-ago levels. Benchmark prices were down by 4.3% in Calgary, 3.6% in Edmonton, 3.9% in Regina and 1.3% in Saskatoon. The home pricing environment will likely remain weak in these cities until demand and supply return to better balance.

Home prices rose 8% y-o-y in Ottawa (led by a 12.2% increase in townhouse/row unit prices), 6.3% in Greater Montreal (led by a 7.6% increase in apartment unit prices), and 2% in Greater Moncton (led by a 15.9% increase in apartment unit prices). (Table 1)

The MLS® HPI provides the best way to gauge price trends, as averages are strongly distorted by changes in the mix of sales activity from one month to the next.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold in May 2019 was close to $508,000, up 1.8% from the same month in 2018.

The national average price is heavily skewed by sales in the GVA and GTA, two of Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets. Excluding these two markets from calculations cuts almost $111,000 from the national average price, trimming it to just under $397,000.

– 30 –

PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national sales information from MLS® Systems from the previous month. 

CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas. Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types. 

MLS® Systems are co-operative marketing systems used only by Canada’s real estate Boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale. 

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 130,000 REALTORS® working through some 90 real estate Boards and Associations.

Further information can be found at http://crea.ca/statistics.

For more information, please contact:

Pierre Leduc, Media Relations
The Canadian Real Estate Association
Tel.: 613-237-7111 or 613-884-1460
E-mail: pleduc@crea.ca