Canadian home prices saw record growth last month, while a sharp decline to the number of homes listed for sale has resulted in a strained housing market across most of the country.
The country's benchmark price increased by 2.9 per cent, the biggest monthly jump on record since 2005. The number of homes for sale dropped by 11 per cent, as per data released yesterday the Canadian Real Estate Association. The number of sales increased by 1 per cent last month as the ratio of sales to new listings reached 89 per cent, the second highest figure ever recorded.
As expected, January was pretty quiet on the new listings side of things, with this year’s first big new supply numbers unlikely to emerge until the weather starts to warm up a bit,” said Cliff Stevenson, the real estate board’s chair. “The question is will that supply be overwhelmed by demand as it was last spring, or will we start to see the re-emergence of some of the many would-be sellers who have been hunkered down for the last two years?”
Canada now has a historically low amount of homes for sales following the COVID-19 pandemic, which helped the stir the market into total delirium over the last two years. Both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford have scrambled to bolster supply, even if experts expect the current housing market disparity take several years to be rectified.
As per real estate board data for last month, Canada had only 1.6 months worth of housing inventory, which is tied for the second lowest figure on record.
“The ideal situation between now and the summer would be that a huge surge of sellers come forward looking to sell in the spring 2022 market,” said Shaun Cathcart, the real estate board’s senior economist.