The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reports that home sales in November increased by 26 per cent compared to the same month last year, marking the second consecutive month of significant year-over-year growth.
CREA further noted that rising home sales in November were primarily driven by activity in Greater Vancouver, Calgary, Greater Toronto, Montreal, and several smaller cities in Alberta and Ontario.
The national average home sale price for November increased 7.4 per cent year-over-year, reaching $694,411.
“Not only were sales up again, but with market conditions now starting to tighten, November also saw prices rise significantly at the national level for the first time in nearly 18 months,” said CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart in a press release.
He added that while a market rebound might typically pause before picking up in the spring, recent developments such as the Bank of Canada’s 50-basis point rate cut and looser mortgage rules could spur a busier-than-usual winter market.
The Bank of Canada’s latest rate cut—its fifth consecutive reduction since June—brought the policy rate to 3.25 per cent.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, national home sales rose 2.8 per cent from October, while the number of newly listed properties dipped 0.5 per cent month-over-month.
At the end of November, there were just over 160,000 properties listed for sale across Canada, up 8.9 per cent from the previous year but still below historical averages for this time of year.
“With variable rates down and inventory up, buyers are moving quickly,” said Clay Jarvis, a spokesperson for NerdWallet Canada, in a statement.
Jarvis noted that the spring market is expected to be competitive, prompting some buyers to act now to avoid potentially higher prices next year. “Their mortgage might cost more today, but for some, that’s an acceptable trade-off to secure a home now. Consider it an opportunity cost,” he said.
He predicted the market would end the year on a strong note. “We’re not going back to the frenzy of December 2021, but we should see notable year-over-year sales growth.”
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