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Ottawa, ON, December 15, 2015 – According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales were up on a month-over-month basis in November 2015.

Highlights:

• National home sales rose by 1.8% from October to November.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was up 10.9% compared to November 2014.
• The number of newly listed homes was up 3.1% from October to November.
• The Canadian housing market remains balanced overall.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 7.1% year-over-year in November.
• The national average sale price rose 10.2% on a year-over-year basis in November; excluding Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, it increased by 3.4%.

The number of homes trading hands via MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations rose by 1.8 percent in November 2015 compared to October to reach its highest monthly level in six years.

There was a fairly even split between the number of markets where sales posted a monthly increase and those where sales declined. The national increase was again led by monthly sales gains in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia and in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

“Recently announced changes to mortgage regulations will likely boost sales activity in the short term, as buyers jump off the fence to beat the changes before they take effect next year,” said CREA President Pauline Aunger. “Even so, some housing markets stand to be affected by the changes more than others. All real estate is local, and REALTORS® remain your best source for information about sales and listings where you live or might like to in the future.”

“Changes to mortgage regulations taking effect in mid-February next year appear aimed at cooling the Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto housing markets,” said said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “Minimum down payments will be going up for homes that sell for more than half a million dollars, so larger more expensive housing markets will be affected most. Unfortunately, the regulatory changes will also cause unintended collateral damage to housing markets beyond Toronto and Vancouver, including places that are facing economic headwinds from the collapse in oil prices.”

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales in November 2015 rose 10.9 percent on a year-over-year basis compared to November 2014 and were up from year-ago levels in two-thirds of all local markets. The increase was again led by the Lower Mainland and GTA. Activity was down sharply in the Calgary region compared to what were historically high levels posted prior to the collapse in oil prices.

The number of newly listed homes rose 3.1 percent in November compared to October, led by the Lower Mainland, Calgary, Edmonton, Kingston and Ottawa.

The national sales-to-new listings ratio eased to 57.3 percent in November compared to 58 percent in October. A sales-to-new listings ratio between 40 and 60 percent is generally consistent with balanced housing market conditions, with readings below and above this range indicating buyers’ and sellers’ markets respectively.

The ratio was within this range in slightly fewer than half of all local housing markets in November. Of the remainder, more markets recorded a ratio above 60 percent than fell below 40 percent. Markets where demand is tight relative to supply are located almost exclusively in British Columbia and Ontario.

The number of months of inventory is another important measure of the balance between housing supply and demand. It represents the number of months it would take to completely liquidate current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

There were 5.4 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of November 2015, down from the 5.5 months recorded in October and the lowest level in nearly six years. The national figure is being pulled lower by increasing market tightness in B.C. and Ontario.

The Aggregate Composite MLS® HPI rose by 7.11 percent on a year-over-year basis in November – the largest gain in over five years. Year-over-year price growth accelerated for all property types tracked by the index.

Two-storey single family homes continue to post the biggest year-over-year price gains (+8.88 percent), followed by one-storey single family homes (+6.42 percent), townhouse/row units (+5.43 percent) and apartment units (+5.22 percent).

Year-over-year price growth varied among housing markets tracked by the index. Greater Vancouver (+17.83 percent) and the Fraser Valley (+12.36 percent) posted the largest gains, followed closely by Greater Toronto (+10.29 percent).

By comparison, Victoria and Vancouver Island prices saw year-over-year gains that ranged between six and eight percent in November.

Prices edged down by about two percent on a year-over-year basis in Calgary and Saskatoon and fell by nearly five percent in Regina. While the home price declines in Calgary and Saskatoon are a fairly recent trend, prices in Regina have been trending lower since early 2014.

Prices edged higher on a year-over-year basis in Ottawa (+0.68 percent), rose modestly in Greater Montreal (+1.61 percent) and continued to gain strength in Greater Moncton (+4.81 percent).

The MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) provides a better gauge of price trends than is possible using averages because it is not affected by changes in the mix of sales activity the way that average price is.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold in November 2015 was $456,186, up 10.2 percent on a year-over-year basis.

The national average price continues to be pulled upward by sales activity in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, which are among Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets. If these two markets are excluded from calculations, the average is a more modest $338,969 and the year-over-year gain is reduced to 3.4 percent. Even then, the gain reflects a tug of war between strong average price gains in housing markets around the GTA and the Lower Mainland of British Columbia versus flat or declining average prices elsewhere in Canada. If British Columbia and Ontario are excluded from calculations, the average price slips even lower to $302,477, representing a year-over-year decline of 4.7 percent.

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PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national sales information from MLS® Systems from the previous month.

CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas. Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types.

MLS® Systems are co-operative marketing systems used only by Canada’s real estate Boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 109,000 REALTORS® working through some 90 real estate Boards and Associations.

Further information can be found at http://crea.ca/statistics.

For more information, please contact:

Pierre Leduc, Media Relations
The Canadian Real Estate Association
Tel.: 613-237-7111 or 613-884-1460
E-mail: pleduc@crea.ca

Ottawa, ON, November 16, 2015 – According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales increased in October 2015 from the previous month.

Highlights:

• National home sales rose by 1.8% from September to October.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was little changed (+0.1%) compared to October 2014.
• The number of newly listed homes was up 0.9% from September to October.
• The Canadian housing market remains balanced overall.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 6.7% year-over-year in October.
• The national average sale price rose 8.3% on a year-over-year basis in October; excluding Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, it increased by 2.5%.

The number of homes trading hands via MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations rose by 1.8 percent in October 2015 compared to September. As a result, national activity stood near the peak recorded earlier this year and reached the second-highest monthly level in almost six years.

There was an even split between the number of markets where sales posted a monthly increase and those where sales declined. The national increase was driven by monthly sales gains in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia together with the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and surrounding areas, led by the York Region, Central Toronto, and Hamilton-Burlington.

“The continuation of low interest rates is supporting home sales activity,” said CREA President Pauline Aunger. “Even so, the strength of sales activity varies by location and price segment across Canada. All real estate is local, and REALTORS® remain your best source for information about sales and listings where you live or might like to in the future.”

“October extended resale housing market trends of recent months,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “Single detached homes continue to be in short supply while demand for them remains strong in a number of active and populous housing markets in British Columbia and Ontario. Meanwhile, an ample supply of condo apartments remains. The balance between supply and demand is generally tighter for single detached homes than it is for condo apartments and that’s unlikely to change any time soon. For that reason, price gains for single detached homes should continue to outstrip those for condo apartment units for some time.”

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales in October 2015 were little changed (+0.1 percent) from activity one year ago, when it reached the second-highest level on record for the month.

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales were up from year-ago levels in half of all local markets, led by the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, the GTA and Montreal. Gains there were largely offset by a drop in activity in the Calgary region, where sales were down considerably from the record set last year for transactions during the month of October.

The number of newly listed homes edged up 0.9 percent in October compared to September, led by the Lower Mainland, Victoria and the GTA. These gains were balanced by a pullback in new supply in the Okanagan Region, Edmonton and Ottawa.

The national sales-to-new listings ratio was 57.9 percent in October, which indicates that the balance between supply and demand tightened. A sales-to-new listings ratio between 40 and 60 percent is generally consistent with balanced housing market conditions, with readings below and above this range indicating buyers’ and sellers’ markets respectively.

The ratio was within this range in slightly fewer than half of all local housing markets in October. Of the remainder, an almost equal number breached the 60 percent threshold in October, nearly all of which are located in British Columbia and Ontario.

The number of months of inventory is another important measure of the balance between housing supply and demand. It represents the number of months it would take to completely liquidate current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

There were 5.5 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of October 2015, down from the 5.7 months recorded in September. As with the sales-to-new listings ratio, the October reading for months of inventory points to the tightest housing market conditions at the national level in almost six years.

The Aggregate Composite MLS® HPI rose by 6.70 percent on a year-over-year basis in October, marking a slightly more modest increase compared to the increase in September (6.90 percent).

Year-over-year price growth slowed in in October for one and two-storey single family homes, but picked up for townhouse/row and apartment units.

Two-storey single family homes continue to post the biggest year-over-year price gains (+8.67 percent), followed by one-storey single family homes (+6.02 percent), townhouse/row units (+4.88 percent) and apartment units (+4.39 percent).

Year-over-year price growth varied among housing markets tracked by the index. Greater Vancouver (+15.33 percent) and Greater Toronto (+10.33 percent) continue to post double-digit year-over-year price increases. Meanwhile, price gains in the Fraser Valley have accelerated to 10.51 percent.

By comparison, Victoria and Vancouver Island prices saw year-over-year gains that ranged between five percent and seven percent in October.

Prices in Calgary edged down by about one percent on a year-over-year basis in October and slipped lower by about one-and-a-half percent in Saskatoon. Prices also fell by a little over four percent in Regina, extending year-over-year price declines there that began in 2013.

Prices in Ottawa remained stable compared to those one year ago and were up from October 2014 levels in Greater Montreal (+1.42 percent) and Greater Moncton (+3.84 percent). (Table 1)

The MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) provides a better gauge of price trends than is possible using averages because it is not affected by changes in the mix of sales activity the way that average price is.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold in October 2015 was $454,976, up 8.3 percent on a year-over-year basis.

The national average price continues to be pulled upward by sales activity in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, which are among Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets. If these two markets are excluded from calculations, the average is a more modest $339,059 and the year-over-year gain is reduced to 2.5 percent.

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PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national sales information from MLS® Systems from the previous month.

CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas. Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types.

MLS® Systems are co-operative marketing systems used only by Canada’s real estate Boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 109,000 REALTORS® working through some 90 real estate Boards and Associations.

Further information can be found at http://crea.ca/statistics

For more information, please contact:
Pierre Leduc, Media Relations
The Canadian Real Estate Association
Tel.: 613-237-7111 or 613-884-1460
E-mail: pleduc@crea.ca

Ottawa, ON, January 15, 2015- According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales activity was down on a month-over-month basis in December 2014.

Highlights:

• National home sales fell 5.8% from November to December.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 7.9% above December 2013 levels.
• The number of newly listed homes rose 1.1% from November to December.
• The Canadian housing market remains balanced.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 5.4% year-over-year in December.
• The national average sale price rose 3.8% on a year-over-year basis in December.

The number of home sales processed through the MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations fell 5.8 per cent in December 2014 compared to November and remained above year-ago levels.

December sales were down from the previous month in almost two-thirds of all local housing markets, led by declines of about 25 per cent in both Calgary and Edmonton. Activity also slipped by about five per cent in the Greater Toronto Area.

“Home sales activity remained above year-ago levels in most local housing markets,” said CREA President Beth Crosbie. “Sales were also stronger in December than they were the previous month in about one-third of all local markets in Canada. This underscores the fact that all real estate is local. Nobody knows this better than your local REALTOR®, who remains your best source for information about how the housing market is shaping up where you currently live or might like to in the future.”

“December sales were down from the previous month in a number of Canada’s largest and most active housing markets, indicating a broadly based cooling off for Canadian home sales as 2014 came to an end,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “Even so, sales remain above year-ago levels in many of the same markets.”

“Given the uncertain outlook for oil prices, it’s no surprise consumer confidence in Alberta softened and moved some home buyers to the sidelines,” said Klump. “With regards to slower activity in Calgary and Edmonton, sales in these two markets had been running strong all year before they returned to levels that are entirely average for the month of December.”

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity in December stood 7.9 per cent above levels reported in the same month in 2013. Sales for the month were up from year-ago levels in about two-thirds of all local markets, led by Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, the Greater Toronto Area, and Montreal.

Some 481,162 homes traded hands via the MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations on an actual (not seasonally adjusted) basis in 2014 — the highest annual level in seven years. Annual sales activity in 2014 was up 5.1 per cent from the previous year and stood 2.6 per cent above the 10-year annual average.

The number of newly listed homes rose 1.1 per cent in December compared to November. Led by Calgary, Regina and Ottawa, new supply was up in just over half of all local markets.

The national sales-to-new listings ratio was 51.8 per cent in December, down from the mid-55 per cent range in the previous four months.

A sales-to-new listings ratio between 40 and 60 per cent is generally consistent with balanced housing market conditions, with readings above and below this range indicating sellers’ and buyers’ markets respectively.

The ratio was within this range in just over two-thirds of all local markets in November. More than half of the British Columbia, Alberta and Southern Ontario markets that had been in seller’s market territory in November returned to balanced market territory in December. This list included Greater Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and the Greater Toronto Area.

The number of months of inventory is another important measure of the balance between housing supply and demand. It represents the number of months it would take to completely liquidate current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

There were 6.2 months of inventory nationally at the end of December 2014, up from 5.8 months in November. Together with the softer reading for the sales-to-new listings ratio, this suggests that the Canadian housing market has become more balanced.

The Aggregate Composite MLS® HPI rose by 5.38 per cent on a year-over-year basis in December. Monthly price gains held steady between five and five-and-a-half per cent throughout 2014.

In December, year-over-year price growth decelerated compared to November for townhouse/row units but accelerated for other types of homes tracked by the index. Two-storey single family homes continue to post the biggest year-over-year price gains (+6.98 per cent), followed closely by townhouse/row units (+5.31 per cent) and one-storey single family homes (+4.51 per cent). Price growth remained comparatively more modest for apartment units (+3.51 per cent).

Price gains varied among housing markets tracked by the index. As in recent months,

Calgary (+8.80 per cent), Greater Toronto (+7.89 per cent), and Greater Vancouver (+5.82 per cent) continued to post the biggest year-over-year increases. By contrast, prices in Regina declined by 3.48 per cent.

In other markets from West to East, prices were up between 2.2 and 2.6 per cent on a year-over-year basis in the Fraser Valley, Victoria, and Vancouver Island, and by less than one per cent in Saskatoon, Ottawa, Greater Montreal, and Greater Moncton.

The MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) provides a better gauge of price trends than is possible using averages because it is not affected by changes in the mix of sales activity the way that average price is.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold in December 2014 was $405,233, representing an increase of 3.8 per cent year-over-year and its smallest increase since May 2013.

The national average home price remains skewed by sales activity in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, which are among Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets. Excluding these two markets from the calculation, the average price is a relatively more modest $319,481 and the year-over-year increase shrinks to 1.9 per cent.

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PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national sales information from MLS® Systems from the previous month.

CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas. Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types.

MLS® Systems are co-operative marketing systems used only by Canada’s real estate Boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 109,000 REALTORS® working through some 90 real estate Boards and Associations.

Further information can be found at http://crea.ca/statistics.

Ottawa, ON, November 17, 2014 – According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales activity edged higher on a month-over-month basis in October 2014.

Canadian home sales edge higher in October

Highlights:

• National home sales rose 0.7% from September to October.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 7% above October 2013 levels.
• The number of newly listed homes rose 0.8% from September to October.
• The Canadian housing market remains balanced.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 5.5% year-over-year in October.
• The national average sale price rose 7.1% on a year-over-year basis in October.

The number of home sales processed through the MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations edged up 0.7 per cent in October 2014 compared to September.

This marks the sixth consecutive month of stronger resale housing activity compared to a quiet start to the year, and the strongest activity for the month of October since 2009.

“Low interest rates continued to support sales in some of Canada’s more active and expensive urban housing markets and factored into the monthly increase for national sales,” said CREA President Beth Crosbie. “Even so, sales did not increase in many local markets in Canada, which shows that national and local housing market trends can be very different. All real estate is local and your REALTOR® is your best source for information about how the housing market is shaping up where you currently live or might like to in the future.”

“While the strength of national sales activity is far from being a Canada-wide phenomenon, it extends beyond Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “Sales in a number of B.C. markets have started to recover from weaker demand over the past couple of years. They have also been improving across much of Alberta, where interprovincial migration and international immigration are reaching new heights.”

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity in October stood seven per cent above levels reported in the same month last year. October sales were up from year-ago levels in about 70 per cent of all local markets, led by Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, Victoria, Calgary, and Greater Toronto. Combined sales in these five markets account for almost 40 per cent of national sales activity, and nearly 60 per cent of the year-over-year increase in national sales this month.

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales activity for the year-to-date in October was 5.2 per cent above levels in the first 10 months of 2013 and slightly above (+2.5 per cent) the 10-year average for the same period.

The number of newly listed homes rose 0.8 per cent in October compared to September. While new supply was down in just over half of all local markets, outsized gains in Greater Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Greater Toronto boosted the national figure.

The national sales-to-new listings ratio was 55.7 per cent in October. With sales and new listings having once again moved in tandem, the sales-to-new listings ratio held steady for the third consecutive month.

A sales-to-new listings ratio between 40 and 60 per cent is usually consistent with a balanced housing market, with readings above and below this range indicating sellers’ and buyers’ markets respectively. The ratio was within this range in just over half of all local markets in October. About 70 per cent of the remaining markets posted ratios above this range, almost all of which are located in British Columbia, Alberta and Southern Ontario.

The number of months of inventory is another important measure of the balance between housing supply and demand. It represents the number of months it would take to completely liquidate current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

There were 5.8 months of inventory nationally at the end of October 2014. It has held to a narrow range between 5.8 and 6.0 months since May of this year. As with the sales-to-new listings ratio, the number of months of inventory remains well within balanced market territory while pointing to a national market that has become tighter since the beginning of the year, when sales got off to a slow start.

The Aggregate Composite MLS® HPI rose by 5.51 per cent on a year-over-year basis in October. Price gains have held steady between five and five-and-a-half per cent since the beginning of the year.

Year-over-year price growth accelerated for two-storey single family homes, townhouse/row units, and apartment units in October. By contrast, price momentum slowed further for one-storey single family homes.

Two-storey single family homes continue to post the biggest year-over-year price gains (+6.94 per cent), followed closely by townhouse/row units (+5.83 per cent) and one-storey single family homes (+4.75 per cent). Price growth for apartment units remains comparatively more modest (+3.51 per cent).

Price growth varied among housing markets tracked by the index. As in recent months, Calgary (+9.47 per cent), Greater Toronto (+8.30 per cent), and Greater Vancouver (+6.03 per cent) continued to post the biggest gains.

Prices were up between one and 2.5 per cent on a year-over-year basis in the Fraser Valley, Victoria, and Vancouver Island, flat in Saskatoon, Ottawa, Greater Montreal, and Greater Moncton, and down 3.4 per cent in Regina.

The MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) provides a better gauge of price trends than is possible using averages because it is not affected by changes in the mix of sales activity the way that average price is.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold in October 2014 was $419,699, up 7.1 per cent from the same month last year.

The national average price continues to be pulled upward by sales activity in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, which are among Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets. Excluding these two markets from the calculation, the average price is a relatively more modest $330,596 and the year-over-year increase shrinks to 5.4 per cent.

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PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national sales information from MLS® Systems from the previous month.

CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas. Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types.

MLS® Systems are co-operative marketing systems used only by Canada’s real estate Boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 111,000 REALTORS® working through some 90 real estate Boards and Associations.

Further information can be found at http://crea.ca/statistics.

Ottawa, ON, October 15, 2014 – According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales activity in September 2014 was down from the previous month.

Highlights:

• National home sales fell 1.4% from August to September.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 10.6% above September 2013 levels.
• The number of newly listed homes declined by 1.6% from August to September.
• The Canadian housing market remains balanced.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) rose 5.3% year-over-year in September.
• The national average sale price rose 5.9% on a year-over-year basis in September.

The number of home sales processed through the MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate

Boards and Associations fell by 1.4 per cent on a month-over-month basis in September 2014, marking the first monthly decline since January of this year.

Activity was down in about 60 per cent of all local housing markets in September, led by monthly declines in Calgary, Edmonton, Central Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, London & St. Thomas, Windsor-Essex, and Ottawa. Home sales rose on a month-over-month basis in Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island, the Okanagan region, Mississauga, Durham and York regions of the Greater Toronto Area, Sherbrooke, and the Northern region of Nova Scotia.

“Affordably priced single family homes are in short supply in some of Canada’s hottest housing markets, which contributed to the monthly decline in national sales activity in September,” said CREA President Beth Crosbie. “That said, there are other markets with ample supply but sellers there are holding firm on price. There is a lot of variation in housing market trends depending on the type of housing, neighbourhood and price segment. All real estate is local and your REALTOR® is your best source for information about how the housing market is shaping up where you currently live or might like to in the future.”

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity in September stood 10.6 per cent above levels reported in the same month last year. September sales were up from year-ago levels in about 80 per cent of all local markets, led by Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, the Okanagan region, Calgary, Greater Toronto and Montreal. The increase reflects activity in September 2013 that was handicapped by the occurrence of five Sundays, since that day is the lowest volume trading day for home sales.

Sales activity for the year-to-date in September was five per cent above where it stood in the first nine months of 2013, and remains broadly in line (+1.6 per cent) with the 10-year average for the period.

The number of newly listed homes declined by 1.6 per cent in September compared to August. New supply was down in just over half of all local markets, led by Calgary, Edmonton, Greater Toronto, Kingston and Ottawa.

The national sales-to-new listings ratio was 55.7 per cent in September. With sales and new listings having fallen in tandem, it was little changed from its reading of 55.6 per cent the previous month. A sales-to-new listings ratio between 40 and 60 per cent is usually described as a balanced market.

Just over half of all local markets posted a sales-to-new listings ratio in this range in September. Two-thirds of the remainder posted readings above the 60 per cent threshold that marks the border between balanced and seller’s market territory, almost all of which are located in British Columbia, Alberta and Southern Ontario.

The number of months of inventory is another important measure of the balance between housing supply and demand. It represents the number of months it would take to completely liquidate current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

There were 5.9 months of inventory nationally at the end of September 2014, up slightly from 5.8 months in August and slightly below the 6.0 months reported in May, June and July.

Both the sales-to-new listings ratio and the number of months of inventory remain well within balanced market territory while pointing to a national market that has tightened since the beginning of the year.

The MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) provides a better gauge of price trends than is possible using averages because it is not affected by changes in the mix of sales activity the way that average price is. Greater Moncton joins the MLS® HPI this month, bringing the total number of markets covered by the index to 11, representing more than half of sales activity across Canada.

The Aggregate Composite MLS® HPI rose by 5.28 per cent on a year-over-year basis in September. Price growth has been steady at about five to five-and-a-half per cent since the beginning of the year.

Year-over-year price growth accelerated slightly for two-storey single family homes and slowed further for apartment units. Price gains for one-storey single family homes and townhouse/row units were little changed compared to August.

Two-storey single family homes continue to post the biggest year-over-year price gains (+6.52 per cent), followed closely by townhouse/row units (+5.51 per cent) and one-storey single family homes (+5.07 per cent). Price growth for apartment units remains comparatively more modest (+3.05 per cent).

Price growth varied among housing markets tracked by the index. As in recent months, the biggest gains were posted by Calgary (+10.11 per cent), Greater Toronto (+7.82 per cent), and Greater Vancouver (+5.26 per cent). Price gains were fairly flat elsewhere, with only Vancouver Island having posted year-over-year gains greater than consumer price inflation.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold in September 2014 was $408,795, up 5.9 per cent from the same month last year.

The national average price continues to be skewed upward by sales activity in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, which are among Canada’s most active and expensive housing markets. Excluding these two markets from the calculation, the average price is a relatively more modest $325,406 and the year-over-year increase shrinks to 4.5 per cent.

“Sales activity and prices in the third quarter were up compared to the second quarter, although momentum going into the fourth quarter is showing tentative signs of waning,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “The continuation of extraordinarily low mortgage rates has been and will continue to be the key support for home sales activity amid continuing price increases in some of Canada’s most active and expensive urban centres.”

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PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national sales information from MLS® Systems from the previous month.

CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas. Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types.

MLS® Systems are co-operative marketing systems used only by Canada’s real estate Boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 111,000 REALTORS® working through some 90 real estate Boards and Associations.

Further information can be found at http://crea.ca/statistics.