Article content
Canada’s housing market was subdued in May, but the Bank of Canada‘s recent interest rate cut should stimulate activity in coming months, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) said Monday.
The national benchmark home price slid to $714,300, down 0.2 per cent from April to May 2024, and 2.4 per cent year over year.
Home sales across Canadian MLS systems dipped 0.6 per cent month over month, maintaining a level slightly below the 10-year average. Despite a 0.5 per cent increase in new listings, the overall market remained relatively stagnant.
Article content
“May was another sleepy month for housing activity in Canada, although it may prove to be the last of those now that interest rates have moved lower,” CREA’s senior economist Shaun Cathcart said in Monday’s report. Cathcart believes the central bank’s rate cut to 4.75 per cent on June 5 will have a significant psychological impact on potential buyers.
“The question now turns to further rate cuts — specifically, how fast, and how far?” Cathcart said.
Recommended from Editorial
The number of properties listed for sale rose by 28.4 per cent from a year earlier, reaching approximately 175,000 by the end of May. According to CREA, this increase in inventory provides a more favourable market for buyers, with the sales-to-new listings ratio easing to 52.8 per cent in May, down from 53.3 per cent in April.
• Email: [email protected]
Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the business news you need to know — add financialpost.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.
Share this article in your social network
Source link
