CREA says home prices stabilized in February after a five-month decline
Canadian home prices in February remained unchanged from the previous month, ending a streak of five consecutive declines that began in the fall, according to the latest data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
The association, representing more than 155,000 real estate professionals, said the benchmark home price of $719,400 remained unchanged month over month after a 1.3 per cent price drop in January from December.
“Shifts this abrupt are exceedingly rare,” CREA said in a release on Monday.
CREA said a similar rapid increase in month-over-month percentage change has happened just three other times in the past 20 years, and all were in the past four years when demand was on the rise.
But Shaun Cathcart, CREA'S senior economist, forecasts that February might be the calmest month of the year.
“It's looking like February may end up being the last relatively uneventful month of the year as far as the 2024 housing story goes,” he said in the release. “With so much demand having piled up on the sidelines, the story will likely be less about the exact timing of interest rate cuts and more about how many homes come up for sale this year.”
National home sales dipped 3.1 per cent in February compared to January, but actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was 19.7 per cent higher than in February 2023. Newly listed properties increased by 1.6 per cent month over month.
The home price index remained flat month over month, but showed a 0.8 per cent year-over-year increase. The national average sale price increased by 3.5 per cent year over year to $685,809 in February.
Simcoe County, Ont., Quebec City and Regina had the highest month-over-month benchmark price increases in the country at 4.3 per cent, 3.8 per cent and 2.6 per cent, respectively. Quinte and District and Windsor-essex, also in Ontario, had the highest decreases, both at 2.3 per cent.