National home sales increased in June following the Bank of Canada’s first interest rate cut since 2020, and activity posted another small gain in August on the heels of the second rate cut in late July, but the bigger picture appears to be a market mostly stuck in a holding pattern.

Home sales recorded over Canadian MLS® Systems edged up by 1.3% on a month-over-month basis in August 2024, reaching their highest level since January and their second highest in over a year.

“Despite some fledgling signs of life to kick off the long-awaited monetary policy easing cycle, Canadian housing market activity still looks to be stuck in the same holding pattern it’s been in all year,” said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s Senior Economist. “That said, with ever more friendly interest rates now all but guaranteed later this year and into 2025, it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”

Highlights:

• National home sales edged up 1.3% month-over-month in August.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) monthly activity came in 2.1% below August 2023.
• The number of newly listed properties ticked up 1.1% month-over-month.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) was unchanged month-over-month but was down 3.9% year-over-year.
• The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average sale price was almost unchanged (+0.1%) on a year-over-year basis in August.

https://stats.crea.ca/en-CA/