Last Updated on October 24, 2023 by Neil Sharma
A flurry of activity in the nation’s real estate market resulted in sales surging by 32.1% last month compared to November 2019, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association’s latest statistics.
With sales north of 11,000 in November, the median price of a Canadian home reached $603,000—the Greater Toronto and Vancouver areas, Canada’s two most expensive real estate markets, brought the national average up by $122,000. Through the first 11 months of 2020, there were 511,449 transactions recorded on the , a 10.5% year-over-year increase, which fell just shy of the January-November record, set in 2016, by 0.3%.
Residential sales in the GTA rose by 23.6% last month to 8,766 from 7,090 in November 2019, but declined by 2.1% from 9,408 in . In Greater Vancouver, residential sales increased by 23% year-over-year in November to 3,131 from 2,546, but declined by 4.7% from 3,429 during the previous month. Residential sales in Montreal surged 30.8% year-over-year last month to 5,343 from 4,084, but dropped by 1.8% from 5,558 in October.
Not even the COVID-19 pandemic effectively cancelling the spring market could halt the torrid pace of national home sales this year, which CREA anticipates will set a record. The association projects 2020 will close with 544,413 home sales in Canada, which would be an 11.1% rise over 2019, with every province except Alberta registering annual increases. If the association’s estimate holds, the average price of a Canadian home will have increased by 13.1% year-over-year in 2020.
Although CREA expects a typical monthly sales cycle throughout 2021, it predicts national sales will rise by 7.2% to 584,000. However, constrained supply in Ontario could result in fewer sales next year than in 2020. Nevertheless, housing markets in every province will benefit from low-interest rates and strengthening fundamentals.
National housing starts last month also increased on a monthly basis to 231,491 units from 222,989, according to new data from the
In Toronto, total housing starts rose by 43% to 2,913 in November from 2,037 during the same month last year, while starts in Vancouver increased by 19% year-over-year to 2,765 from 2,315. Housing starts in Montreal exploded on an annual basis to 3,091, a 72% increase from 1,797 in November 2019.
Neil Sharma is the Editor-In-Chief of Canadian Real Estate Wealth and Real Estate Professional. As a journalist, he has covered Canada’s housing market for the Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, National Post, and other publications, specializing in everything from market trends to mortgage and investment advice. He can be reached at neil@crewmedia.ca.
