Canadian home sales were 6.9% lower in August than in August 2025, according to national statistics released on September 15 by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). On a seasonally adjusted basis, activity slipped 0.7% from July. The Globe and Mail, carrying a Canadian Press report, put the month’s tally at 37,504 transactions. The national average sale price came in at C$668,219, up 0.6% year-on-year, while CREA’s MLS Home Price Index was unchanged from July and 3% below its level a year earlier.
Supply moved in the other direction. New listings rose 3.3% from July, a gain that The Canadian Press noted ended a run of three straight monthly declines earlier in the summer. The sales-to-new-listings ratio eased to 49.1% from 51.1% in July, against a long-term average of 54.7%, and there were just under 200,000 properties listed on Canadian MLS Systems at the end of August, 1.4% more than a year earlier. Months of inventory held at 4.8 for a fourth consecutive month, close to the long-term average of five months. CREA Chair Garry Bhaura said the increase in new supply was broad based across all the largest markets and most apparent towards the end of the month, suggesting sellers were looking to get an early start on the fall market.
For buyers and sellers in Canada, including overseas owners and prospective purchasers, the figures describe a market that CREA itself characterises as largely stable in sales and prices for a fourth straight month, with a growing choice of listings. What has changed, according to CREA Senior Economist Shaun Cathcart, is the broader economic environment: the Bank of Canada has recently warned of rising inflation risks alongside doubts about the durability of recent economic growth, fixed mortgage rates have already increased on higher bond yields, and on the variable-rate side a rate hike is back on the table for this year and already priced in by markets. Bhaura added that buyers will have the usual seasonal burst of new properties to choose from but also have to contend with a fresh round of economic uncertainty.
On the outlook, Cathcart said this fresh round of incoming headwinds is expected to dampen the prospects for further housing market momentum heading into 2027. BMO Senior Economist Robert Kavcic, quoted by The Globe and Mail, said Canada’s housing market has been stable through the summer and that conditions remain balanced at the national level.
References
Canadian Real Estate Association – Canadian Home Sales Slide Down Slightly in August / The Globe and Mail – Home sales fall 6.9% annually in August as inflation, interest rate risks dampen market
