Home sales across Canada in April were up 11.3% from March, with the two largest housing markets once again flexing their muscles, says the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA)..“Following the trend seen in recent months, the sales increase was broad-based but once again dominated by the BC Lower Mainland and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA),” says newly-installed CREA chair, Larry Cerqua..“The actual number of transactions in April came in 19.5% below April 2022, a markedly smaller decline than those seen over the past year.”.The sales increase in April was foreshadowed by smaller month-over-month gains in February and March, so April’s numbers weren’t a surprise, says Cerque..“Over the last few months, there have been signs that housing markets were going to heat back up this year,” he says, adding sales usually take off after the Easter weekend, “which often serves as the opener to the spring market.” .The biggest issue facing housing markets, and buyers, across the country is demand has outstripped supply, pushing up prices, says Sean Cathcart, CREA’s senior economist.. “With interest rates at a top, and home prices at a bottom, it wasn’t all that surprising to see buyers jumping off the sidelines and back into the market in April,” says Cathcart. “Supply, on the other hand, has been sluggish, hence the price gains from March to April seen all over the country.”.“Looking ahead, the first week of May did see a bit of a burst of new supply, suggesting some of those April buyers were existing owners now looking to sell their current homes. That could make for the kind of virtuous circle that might ultimately get more first-time buyers into the ownership space this year.”.New listings increased 1.6% in April from March, but the bigger picture is that new supply remains at a 20-year low, says Cathcart..“With sales gains vastly outpacing new listings in April, the sales-to-new listings ratio jumped to 70.2%, up from 64.1% in March. The long-term average for this measure is 55.1%,” he says..“There were 3.3 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of April 2023, down half a month from 3.8 months at the end of March. The long-term average for this measure is about five months.”.The national average home price in April was $716,000, up $103,500 from January, says Cathcart.The aggregate composite MLS home price index increased 1.6% in April from March, on a month-over-month basis a large increase for a single month, according to Cathcart. .“It was also broad-based,” he says. “A monthly increase in prices from March to April was observed in the majority of local markets.”.The national average home price was $716,000 in April 2023, down 3.9% from April 2022, but up $103,500 from January..“It’s a gain owed to outsized sales rebounds in the GTA and BC Lower Mainland,” says Cathcart. “Excluding the GTA and Greater Vancouver from the calculation cuts more than $144,000 from the national average price.”.Calgary home prices are on the rise.Home prices in Calgary have increased in May from April, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board’s website (creb.com)..The overall market average is $561,508, up from $548,601 in April..All home types showed an average price increase in May from April, with the exception of semi-detached homes. The single-family home average is $746,686, up from $728,260. Townhomes’ average is $415,550, up from $399,780. The semi-detached average in April was $601,368, while condo-apartments went from $296,950 in April to $310,095..Total sales in the city to the middle of May are on pace to be higher than April and come very close to May 2022.
