Residential sales fall in Canada

National home sales in Canada fell in May after setting an all-time monthly record the previous month with a decline of 2.8% recorded, the latest index data shows.

The figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) also show that the national average price has increased by 13.2% year on year but when Greater Toronto and Greater Vancouver are excluded this drops to 9.1%.

Sales activity dropped in about 70% of all markets, led by those in British Columbia and Ontario where the number of homes listed for sale has fallen to multi-year or all-time lows.

‘National sales activity is still strong, even after coming off the record levels of the past couple of months. But, there are housing markets where sales continue to reflect a cautious mood among homebuyers and uncertainty about the local economy,’ said CREA president Cliff Iverson.

According to CREA’s chief economist Gregory many of the housing markets in BC and Ontario that led the monthly decline in national sales are also places where months of inventory have fallen to all-time lows.

‘This suggests a lack of supply may be starting to rein in sales amid a continuation of strong housing demand,’ he explained.