CREA data<\/a>, home sales activity recorded over Canadian MLS Systems dropped 0.6 per cent between April and May 2024 \u2013 only slightly lower than the 10-year average. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) monthly activity came in 5.9 per cent below the same time last year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cMay was another sleepy month for housing activity in Canada, although it may prove to be the last of those now that interest rates have moved lower,\u201d Shaun Cathcart, CREA\u2019s senior economist said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Bank of Canada\u2019s June 5 rate cut may have only been 25 basis points, but the psychological effect for many who have been sitting on the sidelines was no doubt huge. The question now turns to further rate cuts \u2013 specifically, how fast, and how far?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Home prices dipped slightly in May, with the average MLS Home Price Index (HPI) falling 0.2 per cent month-over-month and 1.4 per cent year-over-year. The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average sale price was $699,117 in May \u2013 a drop of 4 per cent year-over-year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The number of newly listed homes also increased slightly in May, inching up by 0.5 per cent month-over-month. By the end of May, there were approximately 175,000 properties listed for sale on all Canadian MLS Systems. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With sales down and new listings up, the national sales-to-new listings ratio eased to 52.6 per cent, which falls within the criteria for a balanced housing market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe spring housing market usually starts before all the snow has melted, somewhere around the beginning of April, but this year I believe a lot of people were waiting for the Bank of Canada to wave the green flag,\u201d James Mabey, chair of CREA said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat first rate cut is expected to bring some pent-up demand back into the market, and those buyers will find there are more homes to choose from right now than at any other point in almost five years.\u201d <\/p>\n