Canadian home sales fall back in October

Ottawa, ON, November 15, 2013 – According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales declined in October 2013.

Highlights:

• National home sales declined by 3.2% from September to October.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity came in 8.3% above levels in October 2012.
• The number of newly listed homes declined by 0.8% from September to October.
• The Canadian housing market remains in balanced territory.
• The national average sale price rose 8.5% on a year-over-year basis in October.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 3.5% year-over-year in October.

The number of home sales processed through the MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations and other co-operative listing systems fell 3.2 per cent on a month-over-month basis in October 2013. The decline returned activity back to near where it stood last June and July.

“October’s lower activity provides early evidence confirming that sales in the later summer and early fall were boosted by homebuyers with pre-approved mortgages at lower than current interest rates jumping into the market before their preapprovals expired,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “Now that interest rates appear to be going nowhere fast, sales activity in the near term may be held in check by homebuyers who are in less of a hurry to purchase. While the Finance Minister will no doubt continue to keep a close eye on Canadian housing markets for signs of overheating as interest rates remain low, October sales results may provide him with reassurance that tightened mortgage regulations and lending guidelines are working as intended.”

Sales were down in a little over half of all local markets, including Greater Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, Greater Toronto, Hamilton-Burlington, and Montreal. The monthly decline in activity among these markets offset increased activity in a handful of less active major urban centres.