Signs of recovery in Canada’s housing market are becoming increasingly evident, with home sales rising for the fifth consecutive month in August.
According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales in August totaled 40,714 units, up 1.1% from July. This marked the highest August sales since 2021, when 51,145 homes were sold during a booming housing market.
Sales in Montreal, Vancouver, and Ottawa all increased, offsetting a decline in the Greater Toronto Area. At the same time, more homeowners across the country listed their properties, with new listings rising 2.6% from July to August, reaching 79,527 units.
CREA’s Senior Economist Shaun Cathcart noted that Canada’s housing market could see more activity this fall, especially after more than two years of subdued sales.
ndustry observers had originally expected that buyers would return to the market after the Bank of Canada began cutting rates last year, but this did not happen as borrowing costs remained relatively high.
Industry analysts had also expected buyers to return during the traditional busy spring season, but concerns over tariff threats from the Trump administration kept them on the sidelines. Now, Cathcart believes the timing is right, stating, “Pent-up demand from the spring is being released.”
Although mortgage rates remain higher than at the start of the pandemic, they are lower than a year ago. Meanwhile, home prices are also below year-ago levels. The national home price index (excluding the most expensive transactions) edged down 0.1% from July to August, to $687,300. Prices fell in Toronto, Vancouver and surrounding suburbs, while they rose in the Prairie provinces and Atlantic Canada.
Compared to a year earlier, the national benchmark home price was down 3.5%.
