The country’s largest metro areas all saw steep declines in home sales in September as would-be homebuyers wait on the sidelines.
This was especially true in the Greater Toronto Area, where September sales were down 10% from August and 44% compared to last year.
New listings in the GTA were down 16.7% year-over-year, which the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) said was the lowest number of new listings for the month of September since 2002.
“We must ensure that the temporary dip in housing demand is not allowed to mask the critical shortage of homes available for sale in the GTA,” TRREB President Kevin Crigger said in a release. He called on candidates in Ontario’s upcoming municipal elections to “ensure homebuyers and renters have adequate housing options in the years to come”
“Municipal council decisions have a direct impact on housing affordability, in terms of the protracted development approval processes, high development fees and other related policies that preclude timely housing development,” Crigger added.
Penny Torontow, president of the Ottawa Real Estate Board, said September’s lower sales performance “reflects continued hesitancy among buyers as they watch interest rates rise and consider the speculation surrounding price trends.”
And it’s a trend that’s likely to continue, at least as long as interest rates continue to rise.
“There is no doubt that sharp increases in the Bank of Canada’s policy rate and less dynamic job creation have cooled residential activity in major urban centers in recent months,” said National Bank of Canada economist Daren King. “Since we expect the central bank to announce another policy rate hike this month, we expect transactions to continue to weaken over the next few months.”
Here’s a look at the September statistics from some of the country’s largest regional real estate boards:
Greater Toronto Area
Sales: 5,038
- -44% (YoY)
- -10% month-over-month (MoM) *Seasonally adjusted
Average price: $1,086,7620
- -4.3% (YoY)
- +0.7% (MoM) *seasonally adjusted
New listings: 11,237
Active listings: 13,534
“Hovering just below $1.1 million, the average selling price may have found some support during the last couple months of summer,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer. “With new listings down quite substantially year-over-year and well-below historic norms, some homebuyers are quite possibly experiencing tighter market conditions in some GTA neighbourhoods. October generally represents the peak of the fall market, so it will be important to see where price trends head over the next month.”
Source: Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB)
Greater Vancouver Area
Sales: 1,687
MLS Home Price Index benchmark price: $1,155,300
New listings: 4,229
Active listings: 9,971
“With fewer homes selling and new listings continuing to come to market, inventory is beginning to accumulate, providing buyers with more selection compared to last year,” said Andrew Lis, REBGV director, economics and data analytics. “With more supply and less demand within this market cycle, residential home prices have edged down 8.5% in the region over the last six months.”
Source: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV)
Montreal Census Metropolitan Area
Home Sales: 2,537
Median Price (single-family detached): $535,000
Average Price (condo): $365,000
New listings: 6,155
Active listings: 15,550
“For the first time since the beginning of the year, the time required to sell a single-family home in the CMA has increased,” said Charles Brant, Director of the QPAREB’s Market Analysis Department. “That being said, median prices for single-family homes remained relatively stable in September, following the significant decline registered over the past four months, including on the Island of Montreal. Even though the overheated market is rapidly subsiding, it should be noted that market conditions remain in favour of sellers, limiting the drop in prices, particularly for high-end homes.”
Source: Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB)
Calgary
Sales: 1,901
Benchmark Price (all housing types): $527,400
New listings: 2,625
Active listings: 4,453
“While demand is easing especially for higher priced detached and semi-detached product, purchasers are still active in the affordable segments of the market, cushioning much of the impact on sales,” said CREB Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “At the same time, we are seeing new listings ease, preventing the market from becoming oversupplied and supporting more balanced conditions.”
Source: Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB)
Ottawa
Sales: 1,080
Average Price (residential property): $706,658
Average Price (condominium): $450,987
New Listings: 2,371
“September’s lower sales performance reflects continued hesitancy among buyers as they watch interest rates rise and consider the speculation surrounding price trends,” said Ottawa Real Estate Board President Penny Torontow. “With rising interest rates, the mortgage stress test has sidelined some potential Buyers, while others are likely scrutinizing their budgets for affordability amidst inflation and cost of living increases.”
Source: Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB)