Overall home
sales and prices saw a small increase in October, indicating a stabilisation of
the housing market's long-running steep downturn.
According to
the most recent data from the Canadian Real Estate Association, there were
35,380 transactions in total last month. While this represents a 36% fall from
the previous year, it represents an increase over September and ends a seven-month
pattern of decreasing transactions.
According to
Shaun Cathcart, senior economist at CREA, "October offered another month's
worth of data suggesting the slow down in Canadian housing markets is winding
up." Sales actually increased from September to October, and prices
continued to drop month over month but at a slower rate for the fourth
consecutive month.
According to
the report, sales increased nationwide in 60% of local areas, "even though
both increases and reductions were largely tiny across the board."
Vancouver saw the most increase, at 6%, while Montreal saw the biggest decline,
at -2.4%.
The average
sale price was $644,643, representing a -9.9% fall from the same month in 2021
and a more significant year-over-year decline than the -6.6% saw in September.
On a short-term basis, the losses were less severe, slipping down just -0.6%.
This suggests that prices have risen significantly in comparison to the -1.2%
recorded between August and September. The MLS Home Index experienced its
smallest MoM loss since June, falling -1.2%.
CREA claims
that excluding Toronto and Vancouver from the average would reduce it down by
$125,000, to $519,643.
The average
home price is down 21% from the market top in February, and sales are down
39.2% from late winter levels.
The number
of new listings increased by 2.2% from September, a change from the -0.8% fall
seen in September, which is good news for people who are now looking for a
house. This shows sellers are slowly out from hiding. With only 3.8 months on
hand, the national market is still trapped in some of the tightest inventory
conditions ever. This is an increase over the 3.7 months remaining at the end
of September, but it is still much less than the five months long-term average.
The market
grew somewhat more buyer-friendly as the number of listings climbed faster than
the rate of sales; the sales to new listings ratio, which measures market
competition, decreased to 51.6% from 52% last month. That is below the
long-term average of 51.6% and is well within the range of equilibrium. According
to CREA, listings increased the highest in the markets of the Greater Toronto
Area and the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, offsetting reductions in
Montreal and Halifax-Dartmouth.
Although the
month's improvements have been small, they do indicate that the market's slump
is beginning to turn around, according to CREA Chair Jill Oudil.
For the
first time since before borrowing rates began to rise last winter, she noted,
sales grew nationwide in October. Of course, we've known there was a demand,
but some people have just had to wait it out while borrowing costs and prices
have changed. Although sellers and buyers are likely to continue exiting the
sidelines in 2023, the market has changed significantly since last year.
Source By: STOREYS