Canada’s housing market cooled further in November as sellers joined buyers on the sidelines, hoping for activity to heat back up in the spring, according to the national real estate association.
Sales activity in November slowed nearly a percentage point month-over-month, the Canadian Real Estate Association said in a release Thursday.
CREA said that the number of newly listed homes also declined for the second month in a row.
Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s senior economist, said in a statement that sellers likely weren’t getting offers they were willing to accept with few buyers in the market this fall, and have instead opted to “hunker down” in hopes of a better deal in 2024.
“It’s probably a good move given that recent expectations around interest rate cuts suggest it might be a somewhat more active spring market than we thought,” he said.
CREA’s home price index declined 1.1 per cent month-to-month. The national average sale price for a home in November was $646,134, up two per cent from the same time last year.
The national real estate body says that price declines are still “mainly an Ontario phenomenon,” but markets including the Fraser Valley, Halifax and Winnipeg also saw values drop in November.
On the other hand, CREA said Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador are seeing prices still hold firm or even rise heading into the final month of 2023.
More to come.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
On Tuesday, the Ontario Real Estate Association released new figures that showed a drop in home prices in many of Ontario’s largest cities in May. The figures showed that the largest drop in home prices was in Toronto where the average sale price dropped from $863,671 in April to $786,359 in May. Other cities in Ontario also saw substantial drops in home prices, including Ottawa where the average sale price dropped from $460,175 to $445,566, Hamilton, where it dropped from $518,622 to $496,420 and London which saw a decrease from $398,039 to $379,914.
The drop in home prices can be attributed to a variety of factors, including the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the continued uncertainty surrounding it. With many potential homebuyers and sellers uncertain about the future of the economy, they are holding off on making large purchases or even putting their homes on the market. Additionally, the Bank of Canada has lowered interest rates in response to the pandemic, making it difficult for some buyers to obtain mortgage loans.
Given the current economic climate, the drop in home prices in Ontario is likely to continue in the near future. For those who are looking to buy a home, it is a great time to enter the market as a buyer with prices continuing to drop. For those who are looking to sell their homes, it is important to be prepared to negotiate and be realistic when setting the price. Real estate agents remain a valuable resource for both buyers and sellers, guiding them through the process and providing expert advice.
