Home sales up eight per cent last month; average price soars 17 per cent: CREA

OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says sales of existing homes rose by eight per cent last month compared to a year ago, while the national average home price soared 17 per cent.

CREA says the national average home price was $470,297 in January, fuelled largely by price gains in greater Vancouver and greater Toronto.

However, excluding the piping hot markets of Ontario and British Columbia, the average sale price actually edged lower by 0.3 per cent from a year ago to $286,911.

On a month-to-month, seasonally adjusted basis, CREA says national home sales rose 0.5 per cent in January, compared to December of last year.

Meanwhile, the number of new listings on the Multiple Listing Service declined by 4.9 per cent in January, compared to December.

CREA chief economist Gregory Klump said single-family homes remained in high demand in Toronto and Vancouver last month, while a number of Alberta markets continued to see ample supply while potential buyers sat on the sidelines.

“Tighter mortgage regulations that take effect in February may shrink the pool of prospective homebuyers who qualify for mortgage financing and cause national sales activity to ease in the months ahead,” Klump said.

New federal rules requiring Canadians to put down larger down payments on homes that cost between $500,000 and $1 million took effect Monday.