Canadian home sales drop sharply in May

According to statistics1 released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales posted a sizeable decline in May 2017.

Highlights:
- National home sales dropped 6.2% from April to May.
- Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity in May stood 1.6% below last May’s level.
- The number of newly listed homes edged up 0.3% from April to May.
- The MLS Home Price Index (HPI) was up 17.9% year-over-year (y-o-y) in May 2017.
- The national average sale price advanced by 4.3% y-o-y in May.

The number of homes sold via Canadian MLS Systems fell by 6.2% in May 2017 compared to April. The month-over-month (m-o-m) percentage decline was the largest since August 2012. (Chart A) While May sales were down from the previous month in about half of all local markets, the sizeable national decline largely reflects a 25.3% m-o-m drop in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Activity was also down significantly from the previous month among other housing markets across the Greater Golden Horseshoe region, including Oakville- Milton, Hamilton-Burlington and Barrie. By contrast, activity rose to multi-year highs in Montreal and Quebec City. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis in May, with year-over-year (y-o-y) gains in about 60% of all local housing markets offset by the sharp drop in the GTA ( 20.8% y-o-y). Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal were among a number of urban centres where May sales surpassed year-ago levels.