![\"CREA](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/AdobeStock_704173115.jpg\")
<\/a>Home sales fell slightly, down 1.7 per cent for the month. However, the number of newly listed homes rose by 2.8 per cent on a month-over-month basis. Slower sales combined with more new listings led to a 6.5 per cent rise in the overall number of properties available. That\u2019s the highest level since the start of the pandemic. April was also one of the largest month-over-month gains on record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cApril 2023 was characterized by a surge of buyers re-entering a market with new listings at 20-year lows, whereas this spring thus far has been the opposite, with a healthier number of properties to choose from but less enthusiasm on the demand side,\u201d said Shaun Cathcart, CREA\u2019s senior economist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
James Mabey, the newly appointed chair of CREA\u2019s board of directors, suggests that those with the ability to participate in the current market should take advantage of the larger inventory and the benefits it provides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter a long hibernation, the spring market is now officially underway. The increase in listings is resulting in the most balanced market conditions we\u2019ve seen at the national level since before the pandemic,\u201d said Mabey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMortgage rates are still high, and it remains difficult for a lot of people to break into the market but, for those who can, it\u2019s the first spring market in some time where they can shop around, take their time and exercise some bargaining power. Given how much demand is out there, it\u2019s hard to say how long it will last.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regionally, prices held steady for most of the country, with the exceptions of Saskatoon<\/a>, Edmonton<\/a>, and Calgary<\/a>, where rates continue to rise. The national average home price was $703,446 in April 2024, down 1.8 per cent from April 2023.<\/p>\n Despite increased inventory, Canadians may be holding out for better prices and an eventual drop in interest rates according to the Canadian Real Estate Association\u2019s (CREA) monthly report for April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":228550,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2024-05-15T20:04:02Z","apple_news_api_id":"bfa91bdd-66a6-4223-93ad-60449a327b60","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2024-05-15T20:04:02Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/Av6kb3WamQiOTrWBEmjJ7YA","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11108],"tags":[11132,11316,11377,11198],"coauthors":[10278],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n