Canada Housing Research Brief

Average home price rises for third consecutive month. National home sales climbed 5.1 per cent month-over-month in May, as it appears that Canada’s housing market has turned and demand is continuing to outpace supply. The average price of a single-family home increased 2.7 per cent monthly in May, which translated into a 5.4 per cent gain when compared to the February 2023 trough. These monthly gains were broad-based, with sales and prices up in almost all of Canada’s major metros. This housing recovery can partially be attributed to an uptick in demand due to the Bank of Canada’s conditional interest rate pause in the early part of 2023, but also because of limited housing supply across the country. While the number of newly-listed properties did rise 6.8 per cent monthly in May, listings are still at a historically low level, with the sales-to-new listings ratio sitting at 68 per cent — indicating a sellers market.