Canada Housing Research Brief

Annual price growth returns to positive territory. After 10-consecutive months, the median price of a single-family home in Canada was up on a year-over-year basis, increasing 1.0 per cent in August. Despite this, weakness is forming as home prices only inched up 0.3 per cent monthly, which is the smallest gain witnessed since home values began to trend up in March. With the Bank of Canada resuming its interest rate hiking cycle back in June, many potential buyers returned to the sidelines. As uncertainty loomed, home sales fell 4.1 per cent month-over-month in August. Furthermore, the supply of homes for sale continued to trend up, increasing 0.8 per cent. This smaller monthly price pick up combined with signs of easing demand and increasing supply show that the housing market is loosing momentum. The sales-to-new listings ratio eased to 56.2 per cent, which is consistent with stagnating home prices.