July home sales dipped on monthly basis, but up from a year ago, says CREA

Canadian home sales dipped by 0.7 per cent in July from the month before, the Canadian Real Estate Association said on Thursday.

But monthly sales activity was 4.8 per cent higher than it was during the same period a year earlier.

The number of newly listed properties increased 0.9 per cent month over month, led by a boost in Calgary. 

The average home price in Canada was $667,317 in July, marking a 0.2 per cent drop from the same period last year.

CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart said the association anticipates housing activity will rise in the fall, as prospective homebuyers wait on more interest rate cuts from the Bank of Canada.

Edmonton and Hamilton-Burlington saw an increase in home sales, while the Greater Toronto Area and Calgary saw declines.

But Calgary led a boost in the number of newly listed properties, which increased 0.9 per cent month over month, the association said.

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The total number of properties listed on the Canadian Multiple Listing Service (MLS) system was up 22.7 per cent from a year ago, though still 10 per cent below historical averages for July, according to CREA.

Rachel Battaglia, an economist at the Royal Bank of Canada, said home resales in Canada are "still underperforming pre-pandemic rates of activity, despite that notable uptick that we saw in June."

While buyers in more expensive markets are still showing signs of hesitation, Battaglia noted that some smaller markets were recovering, including Ottawa, Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge in Ontario, and Victoria.

Housing resale strength has mostly come from the Prairies market, including Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon and Regina, she added.

"We think that it'll continue to be a slow recovery. As rates continue coming down, more buyers will enter the market," Battaglia said, noting that RBC forecasts another 50 basis point cut before the end of the year, and a 100 basis point cut in 2025.

However, "we really don't see resales making this enormous stride at the national level anytime soon, just because potential buyers are still incredibly strapped," she said.

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