According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales were up on a month-over-month basis in October 2016.
Highlights:
The number of homes trading hands via Canadian MLS® Systems rose 2.4 % month-over-month in October 2016.
Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales activity rose 2 % y-o-y in October 2016 to set a record for the month, edging out the previous record set back in October 2009 by just 0.8 %.
Transactions were up from year-ago levels in about 60 % of all Canadian markets, with activity gains in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and environs offset by y-o-y declines in B.C.’s Lower Mainland.
The number of newly listed homes climbed 1.7 % in October 2016 compared to September. Led by a marked increase in the GTA, new listings were up from the previous month in about 60 % of all local markets.
With sales having risen by slightly more than new listings in October, the national sales-to-new listings ratio edged higher to 62.9 % compared to 62.4 % in September.
A sales-to-new listings ratio between 40 and 60 % is generally consistent with balanced housing market conditions, with readings below and above this range indicating buyers’ and sellers’ markets respectively.
The ratio was above 60 % in half of all local housing markets in October, the vast majority of which continue to be located in British Columbia, in and around the Greater Toronto Area and across Southwestern Ontario.
The ratio has moved out of sellers’ market territory and into the mid-50 % range in Greater Vancouver.
Source: CREA
