Canada’s housing market is ‘starting to turn a corner.’ Are prices rising?

According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, the housing market has seen an uptick in sales activity despite interest rates being at a 22-year high.

Canada’s housing market is “starting to turn a corner,” the country’s national real estate association says.

According to the latest data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) released Wednesday, the housing market has seen an uptick in activity despite interest rates being at a 22-year high.

“The market has been showing some early signs of life over the last couple of months, probably no surprise given how much pent-up demand is out there,” Larry Cerqua, CREA chair, said in a news release.

“There’s a consensus that the market will probably look quite a bit different this year compared to 2022 and 2023.”

CREA’s data showed home sales activity rose 3.7 per cent between December 2023 and January 2024, building on the 7.9 per cent month-over-month increase recorded the month prior.

The association said sales activity is back on par with 2023’s stronger months, recorded over the spring and summer. However, it begins 2024 roughly nine per cent below the 10-year average.

National gains in sales were once again led by the Greater Toronto Area, along with Hamilton-Burlington, Montreal, Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, Calgary and most markets in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe and cottage country.

“The actual (not seasonally adjusted) number of transactions came in 22 per cent above January 2023, the largest year-over-year gain since May 2021,” CREA said.