DECEMBER HOME SALES SOAR TO CAP RECORD YEAR

Canadian home sales jumped 7.2 per cent in December from November, setting a record amid surging demand in the Greater Toronto and Vancouver areas, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Friday. The industry group said actual sales, not seasonally adjusted, rose 47.2 per cent from a year earlier, while the group's Home Price Index was up 13.0 per cent on a year-overyear basis and up 1.5 per cent from November. December capped off a record year for Canadian real estate, with more than 550,000 homes trading hands despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which some economists and real estate experts had feared would lead to a housing crash. “Despite all the challenges, 2020 was a record year for Canadian resale housing activity,” Costa Poulopoulos, chair of CREA, said, adding that the momentum was continuing into 2021.