National resale market softened in March
Canadian resale activity and prices slipped in March as higher borrowing costs and global uncertainty cooled the usual spring uptick. The Reuters report cited by MCAP shows sales edged lower from February and prices declined, signalling the spring market’s recovery remains fragile. (reuters.com)
Canada’s spring housing market barely moved in March, with resale activity flat and benchmark prices falling again. (crea.ca) The Canadian Real Estate Association said national home sales slipped 0.1% from February on a seasonally adjusted basis and were 2.3% lower than in March 2025. New listings also edged down 0.2% from February. (crea.ca) The national Multiple Listing Service Home Price Index fell 0.4% from February and 4.7% from a year earlier. Bloomberg reported the benchmark price at C$659,100 in March, the lowest level since March 2021. (bloomberg.com) The Canadian Real Estate Association tied the softer market to a mid-March jump in fixed mortgage rates and rising global uncertainty. Senior economist Shaun Cathcart said higher inflation tied to an oil-price spike added to an already weak start to 2026. (crea.ca) That matters because April, May and June are usually the busiest months for Canadian home sales. The association said buyers may stay on the sidelines if they think the recent rise in fixed rates will reverse. (crea.ca) The market is not frozen, but it is not tight either. The national sales-to-new-listings ratio was 47.8% in March, below the long-term average of 54.8% and still inside the range the association describes as balanced. (crea.ca) Supply remains limited by historical standards. There were 167,524 properties listed for sale at the end of March, up 1% from a year earlier but 10.6% below the long-term average for that time of year, with five months of inventory nationally. (crea.ca) The industry group also cut its outlook for the year. It now expects 474,972 residential sales in 2026, up 1% from 2025, and a national average sale price of $688,955, up 1.5%, with British Columbia and Ontario expected to drive most of the sales recovery. (markets.businessinsider.com) Cathcart told CBC News the forecast changed because of “the situation in the Middle East and the oil shock,” while the association’s chair, Garry Bhaura, said buyers choosing variable-rate mortgages may now see more choice and less competition. The spring rebound is still possible, but the industry’s own forecast now assumes less of it. (cbc.ca)
