Canada’s housing market is showing further signs of cooling off as it posted its fourth month of sales declines in July.
The number of people looking to sell their house fell in July despite prices across the country remaining at record levels. Transactions declined 3.5% in July, with new listings falling 8.8%, according to data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
The national average home price in Canada rose 0.3% to $669,200, while the ratio of sales to new listings, a measure of market tightness, rose to 74% from 70% the previous month.
Since the pandemic caused a buying frenzy in Canada that sent sales and prices to record heights in March of this year, the housing market has been steadily cooling off as prospective buyers contend with a dearth of new houses for sale.
The decline in listings was seen across Canada’s major cities, including Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, with new supply down in about three quarters (75%) of the country’s markets, according to CREA. But despite this tightening, and the resulting drop in activity from the previous month, July home sales were still well above the average for the last 10 years.
