Canada Housing Research Brief

Signs of market stabilization become more apparent. After 12 consecutive periods of monthly declines, the average price of a single-family home in Canada increased 0.4 per cent month-over-month in March. Toronto led the way with a 2.3 per cent monthly increase, followed by Vancouver, which saw prices rise 0.5 per cent. With the Bank of Canada holding its policy rate stable for two straight months, positive momentum is beginning to build. Buyers are emerging from the sidelines in hopes of getting ahead of the market and sellers have not yet been forced to sell, as the number of newly-listed properties edged down a further 5.8 per cent month-over-month in March. As a result, the sales-to-new-listing ratio has trended up for four of the last five months, reaching 63.5 per cent in March. This is the tightest Canada’s housing market has been in a year as limited supply is providing a price floor. Nonetheless, after a yearlong decline, home prices are down roughly 16.5 per cent annually as elevated borrowing costs curbed buyer enthusiasm and created further affordability hurdles over the course of last year.