Canada: Residential Sales Reached A New Record In September

Christine MacPherson • October 19, 2020

Seasonally adjusted home sales rose 0.9% in September to a monthly record of 56,422 units. Sales in Ontario missed August’s record by a hair due to a 5.3% monthly decline in Toronto. Records were nonetheless registered in Ottawa and Hamilton. In the Province of Quebec, sales were at a record level in the Quebec CMA and in Gatineau, and close to August records in Montreal. In B.C., transactions reached a record outside the three main markets of Vancouver, Fraser Valley and Victoria. There were also sales records in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The active-listings-to-sales ratio indicates that the Canadian home resale market was favorable to sellers in Ontario Quebec, the Maritimes Provinces and marginally so in B.C. The market was balanced in the four other provinces.

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