Statistics released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show national home sales continued running at historically strong levels in October 2020.

Home sales recorded over Canadian MLS® Systems in October 2020 edged back by 0.7% from September’s all-time record for monthly sales.

The small change from September to October reflected gains in about half of all local markets offset by declines in the other half. Among the larger markets, activity was up on the month in Montreal, the Fraser Valley, Calgary and Edmonton. By contrast, sales fell back in Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Hamilton-Burlington, Ottawa and Greater Vancouver.

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales activity posted a 32.1% y-o-y gain in October. It was a new record for that month by a margin of more than 14,000 transactions. For the fourth straight month, sales activity was up in almost all Canadian housing markets compared to the same month in 2019. Among the few markets that were down on a year-over-year basis, it is possible the handful that are in Ontario simply do not have the supply at the moment.

So far this year, some 461,818 homes have traded hands over Canadian MLS® Systems, up 8.6% from the first 10 months of 2019. In fact, it was the second-highest January-October sales figure on record, trailing only 2016.

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