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OTTAWA \u2014 The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales in April fell 9.8 per cent compared with the same month last year, as the national housing market has returned \u201cto the quiet markets we\u2019ve experienced since 2022.\u201d<\/p>\n
A total of 44,300 residential properties changed hands across Canada last month, compared with 49,135 in April 2024.<\/p>\n
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, home sales last month ticked down 0.1 per cent.<\/p>\n
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart said tariff-related uncertainty is continuing to keep buyers on the sidelines, similar to how high interest rates chilled demand during the second half of 2022 and much of 2023 before the Bank of Canada began cutting.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the increasing potential for a rough economic patch ahead, the risk going forward will be if an average number of people trying to sell their homes turns into a large number of people who have to sell their homes, and that\u2019s something we have not seen in decades,\u201d he said in a news release.<\/p>\n
The association also said new listings fell one per cent month-over-month.<\/p>\n
There were 183,000 properties listed for sale across Canada at the end of April, up 14.3 per cent from a year earlier but still below the long-term average for the month of around 201,000 listings.<\/p>\n
It said increased supply levels are being driven by higher inventories in B.C. and Ontario, while tight inventories remain everywhere else.<\/p>\n
The actual national average sale price of a home sold in April was $679,866, down 3.9 per cent from a year ago. CREA\u2019s own home price index, which aims to represent the sale of typical homes, fell 1.2 per cent from March.<\/p>\n
TD economist Rishi Sondhi called April \u201canother subdued month\u201d for home sales.<\/p>\n
\u201cEconomic uncertainty likely continued to keep potential buyers sidelined,\u201d he said in a note.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith last month\u2019s soft showing (and weak momentum heading into the quarter) we\u2019re currently tracking another decline in Canadian home sales in Q2 following their sizable first quarter contraction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last month, the association downgraded its forecast for home sales this year, saying total transactions would likely be on par with 2024 \u2014 a steep cut from its January forecast of an 8.6 per cent increase in 2025.<\/p>\n
Sondhi said that could lead to more pent-up demand, which had already been building in Ontario and B.C. before the Canada-U.S. trade war began.<\/p>\n
\u201cHistory shows that Canadian housing markets can surge after lulls, so if confidence improves later in the year (which is our view), the market could see sales pop,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, Canadian average home price growth is likely to remain a laggard for much of the year, given very loose supply\/demand balances in B.C. and Ontario.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a92025 The Canadian Press<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n