Canadian Home Sales Show Mixed Trends in July Amid Stabilizing Market

📅 5 days ago

July home sales in Canada declined year-over-year but showed slight month-over-month growth, indicating a potential shift towards a more balanced market.

OTTAWA — The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reported that home sales in July experienced a decline when compared to the same month last year, yet showed a slight increase month-over-month. Total home sales for July reached 43,578, marking a 5.3 percent decrease from July 2025. However, when adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, sales rose by 0.5 percent relative to June 2026. According to Shaun Cathcart, a senior economist at CREA, July’s housing statistics mirrored those of June, with home sales gradually rising, listings decreasing, and prices remaining stable.
"At the national level, July’s housing data was a carbon copy of the June numbers, with home sales edging up a little further, listings down, and prices remaining stable," Cathcart noted in a recent press release. He emphasized that the more intriguing developments have been occurring beneath the surface of these headline national figures, as markets across Canada are generally moving towards a more balanced state.
The CREA report indicated that provinces such as Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador are still nearing sellers’ market conditions. In contrast, other provinces have seen their inventory levels converging closer to long-term averages in recent months. Notably, Ontario's months of inventory metric was reported to be only about half a standard deviation above average in July, following a period of buyers' market conditions that persisted for the first four months of 2026.
In terms of pricing, the national average sale price for homes sold in July stood at $674,819, reflecting a modest 0.2 percent increase year-over-year. Meanwhile, CREA’s home price index, which is designed to track the sale prices of typical homes, saw a slight month-over-month increase of 0.1 percent, although it was down by 3.3 percent compared to the same time last year. Regionally, home prices experienced a year-over-year decline in Ontario and British Columbia, while other regions reported price increases.
Additionally, the CREA noted that new listings in July dropped by 1.6 percent compared to the previous month, marking the third consecutive month of decline in new property listings. By the end of July, there were 205,388 properties listed for sale across Canada, which represented a 0.6 percent increase from the previous year and was just 1.5 percent higher than the long-term average. This ongoing trend of decreasing new listings alongside stabilizing prices suggests a potential shift in the dynamics of the Canadian housing market, as it transitions towards a more balanced state.

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