Home sales lower in 60 per cent of markets

December 23, 2022



Home sales recorded over the Canadian multiple listing service fell by 3.3 per cent between October and November 2022—more than erasing October’s small gain and rejoining the moderating sales trend that began back in February according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
About 60 per cent of all local markets saw lower sales in November, led by Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, Edmonton, the Greater Toronto Area, and Montreal.
The actual number of transactions in November 2022 came in 38.9 per cent below the near-record for November 2021 and about 13 per cent below the pre-COVID-19 10-year average for November sales.
“There were no big surprises in the November housing numbers, with the data showing the same trends of lower sales and moderating prices we’ve been seeing for a number of months now,” said CREA chair Jill Oudil. She noted increases in the Bank of Canada lending rate have cooled the market across Canada.
The market is “quiet” and will remain so through the winter, forecast CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart. “It will be interesting to see what buyers do when listings start to come out in big numbers in the spring.”
Aside from rising mortgage rates “all the other fundamental factors needed for the market to take off again are still out there.”
The number of newly listed homes edged down 1.3 per cent on a month-over-month basis in November. With the one exception of 2019, November 2022 saw the fewest new listings for that month in 17 years.
With sales down month-over-month by a little more than new listings in November, the sales-to-new-listing ratio is now in the 50 per cent range seen back in May 2022, CREA reported. “Based on a comparison of sales-to-new listings ratio with long-term averages, about 70 per cent of markets are currently in balanced market territory,” CREA concluded.