Home sales across the country are starting to fall back from highs seen earlier in the year, but the Canadian Real Estate Association still expects the number of transactions during 2021 to set a new record.
May's 56,156 sales were a 7.4 per cent drop from April's 60,638, the association reported, and month-over-month sales declines occurred in close to 80 per cent of all markets.
The number of transactions in May was a significant drop compared with a year ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading rapidly through the country, but the association expects sales to edge toward more typical levels through the latter half of 2021 and into 2022.
The association is predicting 2021 will see transactions rise 23.8 per cent from last year to reach a record-setting 682,900, then fall by 13 per cent to around 594,000 units in 2022.
CREA chair Cliff Stevenson attributed the slowing sales numbers to higher prices, a lack of supply and a general malaise spreading in many markets.
鈥淢ore and more, there is anecdotal evidence of offer fatigue and frustration among buyers, and the urgency to lock down a place to ride out COVID would also be expected to fade,鈥 he said, in a release.
CREA believes the declines in sales will be largest in B.C. and Ontario, where pre-pandemic bidding wars and soaring prices became even more intense during the health crisis.
It said these declines will create a 鈥淪impson's Paradox,鈥 where the average price in every province will experience a larger year-over-year increase than the national average because sales will shift away from the most expensive provincial markets.
The association expects the average home price will rise by 19.3 per cent on an annual basis to hit $677,775 this year and then edge up by less than one per cent to reach $681,500 in 2022.
The highest average home prices are expected in B.C., where CREA forecasts they will reach $883,781 in 2021 and 896,304 in 2022.
Ontario will trail close behind with an average price of $859,533 this year and $887,031 next.
The most affordable housing will be found in Newfoundland and Labrador, where homes will sell for an average $272,964 in 2021 and $279,937 in 2022.
Adil Dinani, a B.C. agent with Royal LePage West Real Estate Services, isn't surprised by the forecasts based on what he sees in his area.
鈥淲hile the market has stabilized and we're no longer seeing rapid price growth, we're still very much in a seller's market,鈥 he said.
鈥淭here's still a shortage of quality inventory and that's across all segments ... until that narrative changes, we're going to see prices hold.鈥
The national average price of a home sold in May was a little over $688,000, up 38.4 per cent from $497,189 during the same month last year.
When the Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto areas are removed from that calculation, the average price sank by nearly $140,000, CREA said.
The average price in May was $1,179,831 in Greater Vancouver alone and $1,108,462 in the GTA.
Across the entire country, the association said the number of new listings fell 6.4 per cent to 74,466 in May, down from 79,572 in April.
Listings were down in about 70 per cent of markets with the Halifax-Dartmouth region seeing a 32.4 per cent decline compared to April, the biggest drop seen across the country.
The smallest decreases were in Greater Vancouver, Saskatoon, Regina, Trois-Rivieres and Sherbrooke, which were down by less than one per cent each.
On a sales-to-new listings basis, BMO Capital Markets senior economist Robert Kavcic said the tightest markets remain in cottage country areas like the Okanagan in B.C. and Kawartha Lakes in Ontario.
He attributed the cooling materializing nationally to a combination of buyer fatigue, five-year fixed mortgage rates edging up, policy measures like the bump in the mortgage qualification rate and the stampede out of out larger cities that Canada saw as companies increasingly allowed remote work.
鈥淗ome sales have backed off from extreme levels seen in recent months, but current activity is still historically strong and fostering outsized price growth,鈥 Kavcic wrote in a note to investors.
鈥淲e believe that sales activity will continue to gradually cool in the year ahead, but it's going to take higher interest rates to soften the market in a meaningful way.鈥
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2021.
A $2.14-billion federal loan for an Ottawa-based satellite operator has Canadian politicians arguing about whether American billionaire Elon Musk poses a national security risk.
Specialist divers surveying the wreckage of the US$40 million superyacht that sank off Sicily in August, killing seven people including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, have asked for heightened security to guard the vessel, over concerns that sensitive data locked in its safes may interest foreign governments, multiple sources told CNN.
Twenty-seven year 麻豆影视 reporter and anchor John Vennavally-Rao shares his story of what it was like to have an ostomy bag as part of his health-care battle. 'I鈥檓 grateful for what it did to extend my life,' he writes in a personal column for CTVNews.ca.
The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.
A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
A new study is adding to emerging research showing that exposure to metals such as cadmium, uranium and copper may also be associated with the leading cause of death worldwide, cardiovascular disease.
Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Mont茅r茅gie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced that it fired a barrage of missiles at a military base deep inside Israel early Sunday following an Israeli airstrike more than a day earlier that killed at least 37 people, including one of the militant group鈥檚 senior leaders as well as women and children.
A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.
A man is facing numerous drug trafficking charges after Dufferin OPP seized a large assortment of drugs and weapons in Orangeville earlier this week.
The London Police Service (LPS) is currently investigating a suspicious death in the east end.
The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.
A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.
A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
A body has been found in the vicinity where a woman went missing on the Ottawa River near Pembroke, Ont. while kayaking Tuesday night, according to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
Donald Trump returned to North Carolina on Saturday, stumping in the southern battleground state with direct appeals to women, claiming he would be a better champion for them than U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is vying to become the first female president.
Sheba, a 50-year-old seal at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary in southwest England, has far surpassed the average lifespan for seals and could be the oldest in captivity in the world.
The more Chelsea Walsh talked to the eccentric fellow American who seemed to pop up in every square and cobblestone street of Ukraine's capital, the more she got creeped out.
Specialist divers surveying the wreckage of the US$40 million superyacht that sank off Sicily in August, killing seven people including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, have asked for heightened security to guard the vessel, over concerns that sensitive data locked in its safes may interest foreign governments, multiple sources told CNN.
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah announced that it fired a barrage of missiles at a military base deep inside Israel early Sunday following an Israeli airstrike more than a day earlier that killed at least 37 people, including one of the militant group鈥檚 senior leaders as well as women and children.
A $2.14-billion federal loan for an Ottawa-based satellite operator has Canadian politicians arguing about whether American billionaire Elon Musk poses a national security risk.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says close to 45,000 Canadians are in Lebanon, months after warning there is no guarantee Ottawa can evacuate them if the situation deteriorates further.
The federal firearm buyback program has cost taxpayers nearly $67.2 million since it was announced in 2020, but it still hasn't collected a single gun.
A new study is adding to emerging research showing that exposure to metals such as cadmium, uranium and copper may also be associated with the leading cause of death worldwide, cardiovascular disease.
For some young people, a popular method for getting a quick high is by misusing laughing gas 鈥 and lately, that鈥檚 in the form of nitrous oxide from products sold by the company Galaxy Gas.
Looking after an adult with severe autism can be a full-time job. Ask any parent who has a child severely affected by autism spectrum disorder 鈥 it鈥檚 a job that can get more difficult as the child becomes an adult.
If something looks too good to be true, it might be. That's the message from Saskatchewan horticulturists after customers have come into their stores hoping to buy purple apple trees this month.
The owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said Friday that it plans to restart the reactor under a 20-year agreement that calls for tech giant Microsoft to buy the power to supply its data centers with carbon-free energy.
Lebanese authorities on Thursday banned walkie-talkies and pagers from being taken on flights from Beirut airport, the National News Agency reported, after thousands of such devices exploded during a deadly attack on Hezbollah this week.
Kathryn Crosby, who appeared in such movies as 'The 7th Voyage of Sinbad', 'Anatomy of a Murder,' and 'Operation Mad Ball' before marrying famed singer and Oscar-winning actor Bing Crosby, has died. She was 90.fff
'Saturday Night Live' will have a slew of famous faces to help kick off its historic 50th season when the show returns later this month.
The death of the Tragically Hip鈥檚 lead singer Gord Downie united fans across Canada in their grief, but in many ways pulled his bandmates apart.
It is not a great time to be a coffee drinker. In general, coffee bean prices are the highest they've been in more than a decade.
The maker of the popular party game Cards Against Humanity is accusing Elon Musk's SpaceX of trespassing on and damaging a plot of vacant land the company owns in Texas.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says a recall of Nutrabolics brand Feed Me Vegan Real Food Protein & Oats bars due to undeclared milk has been expanded.
Tattoos are becoming more common in today's society and, as a result, appear to be more acceptable in the workplace than they used to be.
The end of the day 鈥 when school, extracurricular activities and homework are (hopefully) finally done 鈥 is the window that many kids have for downtime. It can be a struggle to convince them not to go on their phones.
While slang may come and go, experts say the phenomenon behind them, which constantly churns out brand-new bon mots, is as old as language itself.
Jonathan Aranda homered for the second consecutive game, helping Taj Bradley and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 on Saturday.
Kiefer Sherwood spent several nights last spring chasing Quinn Hughes around the ice and generally pestering the Vancouver Canucks.
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
General Motors (GM) has issued a recall for 38,000 vehicles for safety risks related to a software glitch, Transport Canada reported in a notice on Wednesday.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has accused Tesla CEO Elon Musk of 'remotely disabling' his Cybertruck, which had been sent to the frontline of Russia's war in Ukraine.
An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
A six-year-old girl who was reported missing in northern B.C. earlier this week remains unaccounted for, and "significant resources from across the province" have joined in the search, police said Saturday.
Volunteers and staff members gathered along Vancouver鈥檚 Stanley Park Seawall Saturday to pick up litter as part of International Coastal Cleanup Day.
A heritage home in Vancouver suffered "extensive damage" in a fire that broke out late Saturday morning, according to firefighters.
Toronto police are investigating a shooting in Scarborough that left one person injured Saturday night.
A pedestrian was struck by a vehicle involved in a collision in Scarborough Saturday evening, Toronto police said.
A 23-year-old man has been arrested after one person was found dead at a home in Richmond Hill Saturday morning.
Milla White from Cochrane literally drew her way into a meeting with former boxer and actor Mickey Rourke.
The water coming from your taps might be a bit murky Saturday, but Calgary remains on schedule to end all water restrictions on Sunday.
For 12 hours Saturday Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPCK) employees, service personnel and corporate teams rode spin bikes to raise funds and awareness for charities focusing on housing homeless veterans in Canada and the U.S.
A potential move to LeBreton Flats for the Ottawa Senators is still years away, but questions and concerns are already being raised about what to do with the Canadian Tire Centre.
The Taste of Wellington 2024 wraps up Saturday in Ottawa.
A body has been found in the vicinity where a woman went missing on the Ottawa River near Pembroke, Ont. while kayaking Tuesday night, according to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
Montrealers can get used to taking a stroll on several car-free streets during the summer in the years to come thanks to a new commitment from the city.
Three men were injured after trying to subdue a man armed with a knife during afternoon prayers at a Montreal-area mosque Friday afternoon.
Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Mont茅r茅gie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.
The Edmonton Police Service is looking for a person of interest in connection with a suspicious fire that destroyed a multi-unit building and damaged several townhomes earlier this week.
Tattoos are becoming more common in today's society and, as a result, appear to be more acceptable in the workplace than they used to be.
Two people have been charged after a daylight shooting in Red Deer earlier this week.
Halifax Regional Police warned the public of a series of high-value thefts targeting retail stores Friday.
Pictou County District RCMP is investigating a fatal crash that occurred in Thorburn, N.S., Saturday.
A proposal for additional parking to accommodate upgrades at the Irving Pulp & Paper Mill in Saint John, N.B., would add an estimated 500 parking spots at Wolastoq Park.
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
A herd of dogs paid visit to patients and residents at Riverview Health Centre during an annual event that lifts spirits and wags tails.
While slang may come and go, experts say the phenomenon behind them, which constantly churns out brand-new bon mots, is as old as language itself.
Fire officials are investigating after a fire completely destroyed the community fridge in the Cathedral neighborhood.
The last two months after losing her daughter Bella have been extremely difficult for Kyla Thomson.
Regina police arrested three youths in connection to a bear mace incident at a Regina high school on Friday.
The Cambridge Professional Fire Fighters鈥 Association held their annual Muscular Dystrophy Boot Drive on Saturday.
Protests were held in front of Kitchener City Hall on Friday, both for and against LGBTQ2S+ inclusive education and queer rights in schools.
Police said the pedestrian, a 52-year-old man, was taken to an out-of-region hospital with life-threatening injuries and the driver of the vehicle failed to remain at the scene.
The 75-year-old building, formerly the Waskesiu Chamber of Commerce building, was relocated to the Parks Canada compound on the edge of the townsite.
Saskatchewan RCMP major crimes unit is investigating after a man鈥檚 body was found on Sweetgrass First Nation.
Motors were roaring, and tires were spinning as Saskatoon's biggest names in motocross gathered together for the 50-year anniversary of the club's founding on Saturday.
Ontario鈥檚 police watchdog is investigating after an Ontario Provincial Police officer discharged his firearm at a 36-year-old man in near Moonbeam, Ont., on Friday night.
For some young people, a popular method for getting a quick high is by misusing laughing gas 鈥 and lately, that鈥檚 in the form of nitrous oxide from products sold by the company Galaxy Gas.
An Ontario woman is among the dozens of people who have come forward to allege that they were sexually abused by London-based businessman Mohamed Al Fayed, the former chairman and owner of Harrods.
A motorcyclist has died following a serious collision that took place in London鈥檚 south end on Friday afternoon.
The London Police Service (LPS) is currently investigating a suspicious death in the east end.
The St. Thomas police is asking the public for help locating a missing man.
The Barrie Skateboard Association (BSA) hosted a unique competition at the City's Skate Park on Saturday to celebrate its 25th anniversary, which showcased the park's importance and the growth of skateboarding in the region.
A man is facing numerous drug trafficking charges after Dufferin OPP seized a large assortment of drugs and weapons in Orangeville earlier this week.
One person is in hospital after an e-bike crash in Orillia on Thursday.
The Amherstburg Freedom Museum is celebrating a year of festivities in anticipation of its 50th anniversary in 2025.
The St. Clair College golf teams were successful at the Niagara Knights Invitational tournament on Friday.
A LaSalle high school is celebrating its emerald anniversary this weekend, with everyone who has ever walked its halls invited to return.
A man who was found dead behind a curling rink in Nanaimo, B.C., earlier this month was the victim of a homicide, police confirmed.
A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.
A six-year-old girl who was reported missing in northern B.C. earlier this week remains unaccounted for, and "significant resources from across the province" have joined in the search, police said Saturday.
A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.
The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.
Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls 鈥 including one that gave birth to 10 puppies 鈥 from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.
Despite the heavy rain, plenty of muscle turned up for United Way鈥檚 annual Pull the Bus fundraiser in Lethbridge Friday.
Lethbridge County has rescinded its fire restriction as a result of the recent cool, wet weathr.
The Lethbridge Hurricanes kicked off the 2024-25 season on a winning note Friday night, defeating the Edmonton Oil Kings 3-1 in a game played at VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
Following an outbreak of COVID-19 on its continuing care floor and just ahead of the flu season, St. Joseph鈥檚 General Hospital in Elliot Lake has opted to re-introduce a universal masking policy until further notice.
A 26-year-old driver from Surrey, B.C., has been charged with three counts of criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm in a crash that killed two youths in northern Ontario last year.
Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
A 16-year-old biennial event aimed at fostering business in the country's eastern Arctic and northern regions has been cancelled indefinitely as a dispute unfolds between Inuit in Canada and a Labrador group claiming to share their heritage.
Jim Lester鈥檚 farm hopped on the cow-cuddling trend in early August, and his time slots have been pretty well sold out ever since.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at 麻豆影视. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop.聽Read about us.
