Ottawa, ON, July 15, 2019 – Statistics released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show national home sales were little changed in June 2019 from the previous month.

Highlights:

• National home sales edged back 0.2% month-over-month (m-o-m) in June.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity ticked up 0.3% year-over-year (y-o-y).
• The number of newly listed homes rose 0.8% m-o-m.
• The MLS^® Home Price Index (HPI) climbed 0.3% m-o-m in June but was down 0.3% y-o-y.
• The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average sale price was up 1.7% y-o-y.

Home sales recorded via Canadian MLS^® Systems were little changed in June 2019 following a string of monthly gains recorded in March, April and May. Although running close to its 10-year average and up nearly 10% from the six-year low reached in February 2019, activity remains well below levels recorded over much of 2015, 2016 and 2017.

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The nearly unchanged national tally in June was the result of an even split between the number of local markets where sales were up and those where they were down. Larger monthly gains were generally focused in the province of Quebec and in Southern Ontario. Those gains were offset by declines in a diverse mix of markets across Canada, including Greater Vancouver (GVA), Calgary, Halifax-Dartmouth and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales activity edged up 0.3% compared to June 2018, with gains in Greater Toronto (GTA) and Montreal offsetting declines in B.C.

“Sales activity is strong in New Brunswick where I do business, but it’s a very different story in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan,” said Jason Stephen, CREA’s President. “All real estate is local. Nobody knows that better than a professional REALTOR^®, who is your best source for information and guidance when negotiating the sale or purchase of a home,” said Stephen.

“There’s a growing divergence in Canadian housing market trends between eastern and western Canada,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “While sales activity in Canada’s three westernmost provinces appears to have stopped deteriorating, it will be some time before supply and demand there becomes better balanced and the outlook for home prices improves.”

The number of newly listed homes edged up 0.8% in June. Stable sales and a slight increase in new listings caused the national sales-to-new listings ratio to ease marginally to 57.1% in June from 57.7% posted in May. This measure remains within close reach of its long-term average of 53.5%.

Considering the degree and duration to which market balance readings are above or below their long-term averages is the best way of gauging whether local housing market conditions favour buyers or sellers. Market balance measures that are within one standard deviation of their long-term average are generally consistent with balanced market conditions.

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