After five consecutive monthly declines, residential property prices in Canada remained stable month over month in February, according to the most recent data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
The drop from last December to January was measured at 1.3%. In February, the actual average price of homes sold nationwide increased year over year to $685,809, 3.5% higher than in February 2023.
In Quebec, the real average price of properties sold increased by 8.4% compared to February 2023, while the increase was 1.3% in Ontario. New Brunswick posted the largest increase, at 12.9%.
Residential sales across the country fell 3.1% month over month, based on last month’s unadjusted data.
As for the actual number of transactions, it increased by 19.7% compared to February 2023, in part because sales in February 2023 were among the lowest for this month in the last two decades.
The CREA said the overall trend “has been slightly higher in activity over the past three months, compared to a quiet fall market in 2023.”
According to Shaun Cathcart, ACI’s senior economist, February “could end up being the last relatively quiet month of the year.”
“Given the amount of pent-up demand, it’s likely the number of properties coming up for sale this year that will capture our attention rather than when interest rates start to fall,” Mr Cathcart said.
The number of newly listed properties increased 1.6% month over month. Meanwhile, there were 3.8 months of inventory nationwide at the end of February 2024, up from 3.7 months at the end of January, but below the long-term average of about five months of inventory .
Vy Ngo, a sales representative at Big City Realty, said she believes buyers are much more optimistic than at the end of last year.
“Personally, my clients get pre-approval. Some of them are making purchases and others are in the early stages,” she said.
“Once the Bank of Canada lowers rates, I think the market will heat up again,” she added.
Ngo said she sold a Toronto-area home last month that had only been on the market for three days.
“My client originally wanted to sell at the end of last year and I told him to wait until the new year. It was a pleasant sale. »