Canadian Home Sales and Prices Push Higher in December

According to statistics released on Monday (1-17-22) by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), home sales recorded over Canadian MLS® Systems edged up 0.2% between November and December 2021. The small increases in November and December followed on the heels of a 9% increase in activity in October. This places sales in Q4 2021 between the highs and lows seen earlier in the year.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) number of transactions in December 2021 came in -9.9% below the record for December, which was set in December of 2020. Nonetheless, as has been the case throughout the second half of 2021, it was still the second-highest level on record for the month of December.

On an annual basis, a total of 666,995 residential properties have traded hands via Canadian MLS® Systems in 2021. This was a new record by a large margin, surpassing the previous annual record set in 2020 by a little more than 20%, and standing 30% above the average of the last 10 years.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average home price was $713,500 in December 2021, up 17.7% from the same month last year. The national average price is heavily influenced by sales in Greater Vancouver and the GTA, two of Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets. Excluding these two markets from the calculation, in December 2021 cuts more than $150,000 from the national average price.

There were just 1.6 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of December 2021 — the lowest level ever recorded. The long-term average for this measure is a little more than 5 months.