National home sales fell 10.7% in November compared with the same month last year as the Canadian Real Estate Association says activity has veered into a holding pattern heading into 2026.
The association says 33,895 properties changed hands across the country last month, as home sales also ticked 0.6% lower from October on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The actual national average sale price of a home sold in November was $682,219, down 2% from a year earlier.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says some sellers are making price concessions in order to get deals done before the end of 2025 following a mid-year rally.
“That said, the Bank of Canada’s clear signal that rates are now about as good as they’re likely going to get is the green light many fixed-rate borrowers have no doubt been waiting for, so we remain of the view that activity will continue to pick up next year,” he said in a press release.
The central bank held its key rate at 2.25% last week, with economists expecting it to remain unchanged for much of next year. Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said the rate is at the level it should be to balance inflation and economic growth.
That would halt a downward push that started in June 2024 to bring the key rate down from 5%, including one percentage point worth of cuts this year.
CREA’s home price index, which aims to represent the sale of typical homes, edged 0.4% lower between October and November and was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis.
TD economist Rishi Sondhi said home prices will likely continue to be weighed down by oversupply in B.C. and Ontario, while tighter markets should fuel stronger price gains elsewhere in the country.
“November was a soft month for resale housing, with Canadian sales and prices both down,” he said in a note.
“However, November’s sales dip was small, and sales have climbed for six of the past eight months. As such, we’re not throwing in the towel yet on our view that Canadian sales will grind higher through next year, supported by pent-up demand in B.C. and Ontario, and some improvement in job markets in 2026.”
The association says new listings were down 1.6% month-over-month.
There were 173,000 properties listed for sale across Canada at the end of November, up 8.5% from a year earlier but 2.5% below the long-term average for that time of the year.