Canadian Home Sales Increased in February

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reported today (3-15-22) that national homes sales in Canada were up in February 2022, as buyers took advantage of early spring listings.

Home sales recorded over Canadian MLS® Systems climbed 4.6% between January and February 2022. The monthly increase in activity was likely the result of a rebound in new listings in February following big a decline in January. As such, stronger activity may persist as late-February new listings continue to sell in March.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) number of transactions in February 2022 came in -8.2% below the monthly record set in 2021. That said, as was the case in January and throughout the second half of 2021, it was still the second-highest level on record for that month.

In a statement prepared for today’s February home sales report, Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s Senior Economist said:

“New supply bounced way up in February, which is similar to what we saw play out in 2020 and again in 2021. The real question is what comes next? In the short term, expect at least one more month of stronger sales as the majority of those new listings came onto the market near the end of the month so many of the associated sales likely won’t happen until early March. Ideally, listings will continue to come out in big numbers in the months ahead. Combined with higher interest rates and higher prices, we could be at a turning point where price growth begins to slow down, and inventories finally begin to recover after seven years of declines. Still, in order to turn this market back towards balance long-term, building more new homes across the spectrum remains the key.”