National home sales rose by 1.8% from September to October in Canada while prices were up 6.7% year on year, according to the latest index from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
Actual, not seasonally adjusted, activity was little changed with growth of 0.1% compared to October 2014 while the number of newly listed homes was up 0.9% and CREA says that the Canadian housing market remains balanced overall.

The data also shows that the national average sale price rose 8.3% year on year but excluding Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, it increased by 2.5%.

There was an even split between the number of markets where sales posted a monthly increase and those where sales declined. The national increase was driven by monthly sales gains in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia together with the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and surrounding areas, led by the York Region, Central Toronto, and Hamilton-Burlington.

‘The continuation of low interest rates is supporting home sales activity. Even so, the strength of sales activity varies by location and price segment across Canada,’ said CREA president Pauline Aunger.

October extended resale housing market trends of recent months, according to Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist. He pointed out that single detached homes continue to be in short supply while demand for them remains strong in a number of active and populous housing markets in British Columbia and Ontario.

Meanwhile, an ample supply of condo apartments remains. ‘The balance between supply and demand is generally tighter for single detached homes than it is for condo apartments and that’s unlikely to change any time soon. For that reason, price gains for single detached homes should continue to outstrip those for condo apartment units for some time,’ added Klump.

Actual sales were up from year ago levels in half of all local markets, led by the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, the GTA and Montreal. Gains there were largely offset by a drop in activity in the Calgary region, where sales were down considerably from the record set last year for transactions during the month of October.

Year on year price growth slowed in in October for one and two storey single family homes, but picked up for townhouse/row and apartment units. Two storey single family homes continue to post the biggest year on year price gains with growth of 8.67% followed by one storey single family homes up 6.02%, townhouse/row units up 4.88% and apartment units up 4.39%.

Year on year price growth varied among housing markets tracked by the index. Greater Vancouver was up 15.33% and Greater Toronto was up 10.33% and continue to post double digit year on year price increases.

Meanwhile, price gains in the Fraser Valley increased by 10.51%. By comparison, Victoria and Vancouver Island prices saw year on year gains that ranged between 5% and 7% in October.

Prices in Calgary edged down by 1% year on year and prices in Saskatoon were down 1.5%. Prices also fell by a little over 4% in Regina, extending year on year price declines there that began in 2013.

Prices in Ottawa remained stable compared to those one year ago and were up from October 2014 levels in Greater Montreal by 1.42% and Greater Moncton by 3.84%.

The number of newly listed homes edged up 0.9% in October compared to September, led by the Lower Mainland, Victoria and the GTA. These gains were balanced by a pullback in new supply in the Okanagan Region, Edmonton and Ottawa.

The national sales to new listings ratio was 57.9% in October, which indicates that the balance between supply and demand tightened. A sales to new listings ratio between 40 and 60% is generally consistent with balanced housing market conditions, with readings below and above this range indicating buyers’ and sellers’ markets respectively.

The ratio was within this range in slightly fewer than half of all local housing markets in October. Of the remainder, an almost equal number breached the 60 percent threshold in October, nearly all of which are located in British Columbia and Ontario.

The number of months of inventory is another important measure of the balance between housing supply and demand. It represents the number of months it would take to completely liquidate current inventories at the current rate of sales activity. There were 5.5 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of October 2015, down from the 5.7 months recorded in September.

Canadian Property Prices Up 2.5% Year on Year, Excluding Vancouver & Toronto by Property Wire