National home sales at 14-year low in Around Town
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Despite home sales in Canada posting their worst start to the year since 2009, recorded sales only decreased by 3% between December 2022 and January 2023. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) monthly activity came in 37.1% below January 2022 while the MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) declined by 1.9% month-over-month and was down 12.6% year-over-year.
From January 2022 to January 2023, average prices in BC and Ontario dropped by 16 and 20% respectively. Prices in Alberta only dropped by 5% while Newfoundland increased by 4%. Declines in Greater Vancouver, Victoria and elsewhere on Vancouver Island, Calgary, Edmonton, and Montreal offset increases in other parts of the country.
The number of newly listed homes increased by 3%, led by increases in BC. Despite the small increase, new listings remain historically low. With new listings up and sales down in January, sales-to-new listings eased back to 50.7%. The long-term average for this measure is 55.1%.
There were 4.3 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of January 2023. This is close to where this measure was in the months leading up to the initial COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, and still close to a month below its long-term average of about five months.
The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average home price was $612,204 in January 2023, down 18.3% from the same month last year. The national average price is heavily influenced by sales in Greater Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area, two of Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets. Excluding these two markets from the calculation cuts almost $113,000 from the national average price.
Source: Canadian Real Estate Association – creastats.crea.ca
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