Home Sales in Canada up 26.9% Year-Over-Year in February: Report

Despite a rocky couple of weeks, Canada’s real estate market continues to experience notable growth, with home sales up in February compared to the same time the year prior, according to a new report from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).

According to the report, which was released Monday, home sales recorded over the Canadian MLS Systems rose by 5.9% last month, marking one of the larger m-o-m gains of the past decade.

The association also reported that sales for February, which included an extra day due to the leap year, were up 26.9% compared with the same month last year.

CREA reported that transactions last month were up in about 60% of all local markets, largely as a result of a 15% jump in activity in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

“Following a quieter than normal December/January period, February saw a burst of new listings in some of Canada’s most supply-starved markets, so it was not a surprise that sales were up alongside that increase in new supply,” said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s Senior Economist.

“There is some question about how much pent-up demand remains in parts of the country where listings have been low for some time now. That said, it will take more than one month of increased new listings to even start to turn some of these markets towards some semblance of balance. In the meantime, expect competition among buyers for available listings to continue to drive prices higher.”

According to the report, the number of newly listed homes in the country rose 7.3% in February compared with January.

Additionally, the increase in the number of sales came as the national average price for homes sold last month rose 15.2% compared with a year ago to $540,000.

The association said the increase in the national average price was heavily influenced by sales in the Greater Vancouver Area and in the Greater Toronto Area, two of Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets.

Excluding those two markets from calculations cuts close to $130,000 from the national average price, trimming it to around $410,000.