The spring market was in full force last month as buyer activity intensified after the Easter weekend. National homes sales increased by an impressive 11.3% from March 2023, the largest month-over-month gain so far this year.

Majority of Markets See Significant Sales and Price Increases

According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), sales gains could be found all across the country, with Greater Vancouver and the Greater Toronto Area once again pushing forward most of those gains. Notably, Halifax-Dartmouth and Ottawa had impressive growth with sales increasing month-over-month by 31.8% in Halifax-Dartmouth and by 24.5% in Ottawa. Hamilton-Burlington, Calgary and Edmonton all also experienced month-over-month sales growth of more than 10%.

Prices held strong across the country with nearly every major market increasing month-over-month. The national average home price in April 2023 was $716,000, a $103,500 increase from the beginning of this year. Hamilton-Burlington led the way in price growth, experiencing a month-over-month increase of 3.9% at $868,800. Saint John and Kitchener-Waterloo also experienced notable growth, up by 3% and 2.7% respectively.

New Listings Up in Smaller Markets

Though inventory is low on a national level, months of inventory dropped down to just 3.3 months from March, some smaller markets actually saw an increase in new listings in April. New listings were up in Winnipeg, Regina and Ottawa by 0.9%, 2.1% and 2.8% respectively. Edmonton’s new listings increased by 3.1%, while Saskatoon’s new listings jumped up by a whopping 18.5%.

Despite these increases, the sales-to-new-listings ratio for the country is at its tightest in over a year at 70.2%, meaning the market is increasingly favouring sellers. “With interest rates at a top, and home prices at a bottom, it wasn’t all that surprising to see buyers jumping off the sidelines and back into the market in April. Supply, on the other hand, has been sluggish, hence the price gains from March to April seen all over the country. Looking ahead, the first week of May did see a bit of a burst of new supply, suggesting some of those April buyers were existing owners now looking to sell their current homes,” said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s Senior Economist.

CREA : Sales far Outpacing Supply Creating an Ever-Tightening Market by MacKenzie Scibetta | zoocasa