Canadian home sales fell in September for the first time since April

The number of homes sold in September fell 1.7 per cent from the previous month, breaking a five-month streak of increases in sales activity, according to new data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).

Last month, 39,938 residential properties were sold across the country, down from 40,615 sales in August.

benchmarch home price tickA decline of 0.1 percent month on month and a decline of 3.4 percent year on year. The national average price of a home was $676,154 for the month.

The decline in sales came despite a interest rate cut by the Bank of Canada from 2.75 to 2.5 per cent in September.

CREA senior economist Sean Cathcart said expectations of a rate cut were not clear until the “eleventh hour”, which could That means it will have a greater impact on the sales figures for October. If the central bank wants to cut rates furtherHe says that this will have a big impact in the future in the coming months.

Regionally, the Greater Toronto Area and Winnipeg saw sales increases, according to CREA — but declines in Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal and the Vancouver area were enough to drag the average down.

According to Cathcart, before now, city centers including Toronto were lagging in terms of sales activity, while homes in smaller towns and rural areas were selling in droves, sometimes at record prices. he saysThis change from September suggests that regional trends may be slowing.

but kathakArt says the fall isn’t that big in the grand scheme of things. still on sale Compared to previous years – 5.2 percent higher than September 2024, and the highest number of sales in the month of September since 2021.

“Things don’t always go up in a straight line. So I’m more inclined to call it a bump in the road at this point,” Cathcart said.

Cathcart says Canada still faces challenges in terms of housing supply in the long term. The supply of new homes in September fell 0.8% from the previous month, according to the new data, with a total of 4.4 months of inventory available (the long-term average for that benchmark is five months).

Cathcart says this means Canada needs to continue building housing aggressively to avoid a situation where prices rise rapidly because there is not enough housing to meet demand.

“Our message to policymakers in Ottawa is to build as quickly as possible, because this supply shortage situation is not going anywhere.”