Canadian housing markets currently cruising between pre- and peak pandemic levels
The Canadian Real Estate Association released their August 2021 National Housing Market Statistics report today. The report from CREA shows that there was little change in home sales on a national basis. Highlights include:
- National home sales edged back 0.5% on a month-over-month basis in August.
- Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was down 14% on a year-over-year basis.
- The number of newly listed properties ticked up 1.2% from July to August.
- The MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) rose 0.9% month-over-month and was up 21.3% year-over-year.
- The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average sale price posted a 13.3% year-over-year gain in August.
According to the report there were 2.2 months of inventory at the end of August 2021. The number is down a bit from 2.3 months in July. This is extremely low and still indicative of a strong seller’s market at the national level and in most local markets. The long-term average for this measure is more than twice where it stands today.
Newly listed homes
The number of newly listed homes nation wide was 1.2% higher in August compared to July. It was a fairly even split between markets that saw declines and those that saw gains. New supply declines in the GTA and Ottawa were offset by gains in Vancouver and Montreal.
The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average home price was $663,500 in August 2021. Which is up 13.3% from the same month last year. The national average price is heavily influenced by sales in Greater Vancouver and the GTA. Which are two of Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets. Excluding these two markets from the calculation in August 2021 cuts over $130,000 from the national average price.
Below is the Home Price Index Performance-Over-Time graph specifically for the GTA. The graph shows a continued growth in the benchmark prices for most types of housing in the Toronto Area.
If you would like more information about what this means for your property, please contact me directly. I’m always happy to help!
If you’d like to check out the full report click here.