The decrease in national sales activity seen in August is usual for the end of summer but shows the full impact of the Bank of Canada‘s rate rise in July. The effect of the Bank of Canada’s decision to stop rate rises in September remains to be seen. National house sales were down 4.1% month over month, according to to the Canadian Real Estate Association. However, on the bright side, this gives the housing market and supply a chance to increase.
Start of 2023 Sees an Increase in Housing Availability
There has been a severe lack of housing inventory during the most of 2023 in the housing market, driving up both competition and costs. With many potential buyers away on vacation, August saw a slight uptick in new listings. There was a little rise in new listings from July to August, the real improvement occurred from March to July. In these months there was a total gain of more than 24%. As a result, the SNLR (sales-to-new-listings ratio) has returned to a more normal level. The SNLR peaked in April at 67.4%, indicating a sellers’ market, and by August it had fallen to a more even 56.2%.
Reduced buying and selling means lower prices everywhere
In August, sales and demand slowed, leading to a 1% drop in the national benchmark price to $750,100. Saint John, Quebec City, and the Montreal CMA all had month-over-month price increases of 1.6%, 1.3%, and 0.3%, respectively, while inflation in Quebec and the East Coast remained stable.
While Greater Vancouver, the Prairies, and most of Ontario had month-over-month price drops, Calgary was the only big region with a price gain. Prices in Kitchener-Waterloo fell by 2.6% month-over-month to $745,100. Prices in Regina fell by 1.9%; and prices in the Greater Toronto Area were down by 1.6%.
If you’re thinking of buying, selling, or doing both this autumn, you should see a real estate agent in your region to find out what the housing market is like.