Canadian home sales dip in March as mortgage rates climb
Home sales fell 0.1% in March as higher mortgage rates and economic uncertainty slowed activity. CREA also lowered its annual housing market forecast for 2026.
The residential real estate market in Canada saw a marginal decline in activity during March, as elevated mortgage rates and broader economic concerns impacted transaction volumes. According to the latest figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales dipped 0.1% from February, while annual sales figures showed a 2.3% decrease on a non-seasonally adjusted basis.
Pricing trends followed a similar downward trajectory. The Home Price Index fell 0.4% month-over-month and registered a 4.7% decline year-over-year. Supply also tightened slightly, with newly listed properties falling 0.2% compared to the previous month. These factors kept the sales-to-new listings ratio at 47.8%, which remains below the market's long-term historical average.
Shaun Cathcart, the senior economist at CREA, highlighted the specific challenges facing the sector during the first quarter.
“Home sales activity remained at lower levels in March, as rising global economic uncertainty, along with a mid-month jump in fixed mortgage rates tied to incoming higher inflation, piled on to an already shaky economic start to the year,” Shaun Cathcart, CREAs senior economist, said in a statement.
Following the slow start to the year, CREA has downgraded its housing market forecast for 2026. The association now anticipates that 474,972 residential properties will be sold throughout the year. Although this figure represents a 1% improvement over 2025 performance, it is notably lower than the 494,512 sales previously forecasted in January.
