Average Canadian home price hit $748,450 in January, up 21% in past year

Excluding Greater Vancouver and the Greater Toronto cuts almost $160,000 from the national average price, The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) says.

Home sales fell in January from a year earlier, but still posted their second-best showing for the month as the average price climbed to a new record, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Tuesday.

Sales totalled 33,166 last month, down 10.7 per cent from 37,137 in January 2021.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, home sales for January amounted to 55,043, up by one per cent from 54,482 in December.

“The reality is that people weren’t ready to sell and there was very little supply on the market,” said Davelle Morrison, a Toronto broker with Bosley Real Estate Ltd.

“Now, I have three listings signed up for the end of February or beginning of March, but for those people January was just a little bit too early for them.”

Realtors and economists attributed the second-best showing to high demand for homes from millennials anxious to buy their first property before prices climb any further, newcomers entering the country after immigration ground to a halt during the pandemic and investors keen to take advantage of lower interest rates.

“It’s tough for supply to keep up with such a supercharged demand backdrop,” said Rishi Sondhi, an economist with TD Economics, in a note to investors.

His remarks came as CREA noted a lack of new listings, which fell 11 per cent to 61,602 in January from 69,196 in December.