(Ottawa) The Canadian housing market was still slow in May, as sales and prices of existing properties declined and listings increased.
The trend occurred both over the past month and compared to May 2023, but could begin to reverse after the Bank of Canada made its first interest rate cut in four years, a indicated Monday the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
“May was another quiet month for Canada’s housing market, and it may have been the last now that interest rates have fallen,” said Shaun Cathcart, senior economist at CREA. in a press release.
During the month, the number of properties sold decreased by 5.9% compared to May of last year, and by 0.6% compared to April on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The national average price for May was $699,117, down 4% from a year earlier but up 1% month over month.
The ACI benchmark price, which aims to track typical properties, was down 2.4% from last year and 0.2%, seasonally adjusted, from April.
New residential listings increased 13.5% nationally from last year and 0.5% from April when seasonally adjusted.
The regional picture varies considerably, however, with sales in Greater Vancouver down 19.8% from last year and Greater Toronto down 22.2%, while sales in Edmonton increased by 19.4% and activity in Winnipeg increased by 14%.
Sales increased by 4.7% in Greater Montreal, while they jumped 3.5% in the Quebec region.
In the Maritimes, sales were down 3.2% in Saint John, New Brunswick, and 4.9% in Halifax-Dartmouth.
High borrowing costs and uncertainty from the Bank of Canada kept buyers on the sidelines in May, but that could start to change after the central bank lowered its key rate in June, noted the TD economist Rishi Sondhi in a note.
“We expect a stronger performance in June, in a context of falling bond yields,” he said. Looking ahead, further rate cuts are likely, which should pave the way for a stronger second half of 2024. »