The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) says home sales across the country fell 32.2%
in September from a year ago as higher interest rates push more buyers to the sidelines.
September is typically one of the busiest homebuying months of the year. However, CREA said
that sales were down 3.9% this September from the previous month of August.
September’s sales were also 12% lower than the pre-pandemic 10-year average for the month.
The latest data from CREA comes two weeks after real estate boards in many major cities,
including Toronto and Vancouver, reported huge drops in sales and lower listings as higher
interest rates make it more difficult for Canadians to qualify for an afford a mortgage.
On a year-over-year basis, new home listings across Canada were down 1.5% in September.
The national average home price was $640,479 in September, down 6.6% compared with the
same period of 2021.
With the Bank of Canada expected to continue raising interest rates, the national housing
market is expected to slump further in coming months, said CREA.
