The trend in Canadian housing sales increased in May 2017 to 214,621 units, compared to 213,435 units in April 2017, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing sales.
“Housing sales increased in May in Canada’s urban areas”, said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s Chief Economist. “Row and apartment units led the upward move, while construction has slowed for pricier single- and semi-detached houses.”
While more homes were listed in May, it continues to be a seller’s market in Waterloo region and across the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) as inventories remain tight at near or less than one month of inventory.
Addressing the Fair Housing Plan that was announced by the Ontario government in April, the president of the KWAR notes that it is still too soon to know if the measures will have the intended cooling effect on the market. “For now, home sales are still booming, and prices are going strong. While we continued to see big year-over year price gains in May, the overall residential average price did dip 3 per cent compared to April.” One month does not make a trend Craig concedes, but the spike in listings last month may have contributed to the flatter prices.
Monthly highlights
Toronto
In Toronto, total housing sales trended lower largely as a result of a decrease in single-detached and row units. May marks the first month that single-detached sales have bucked their upward trend since September 2016. This coincides with a noticeable increase in new home listings in the resale market, providing added choice to homebuyers, causing less demand to spill over into the new home market.
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo
The trend of housing sales increased in Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (KCW) in May by 8.2% compared to 6% last month due to stronger sales for all types of housing. This is the second consecutive month unit sales have hit an all-time high. Semi-detached and townhouse sales are higher this year, up by 39.1% and 22.8%, respectively. Demand for these housing types has been strong in the past few months due to the tight resale market and the influx of GTA households looking to purchase a more affordable home. New single-detached prices in KCW are approximately half of the cost of the same type of dwelling in Toronto.
“With the persistent buyer demand we’ve been experiencing these past several months, it was great to see that spike in residential listings enter the market in May, as we’ve had a severe shortage of inventory,” says James Craig, President of the KWAR.
In Kitchener Waterloo Specifically
REALTORS® listed 1,271 residential properties in K-W, a 38.6% increase compared to May of 2016, and a 29% increase compared to April. It’s the first time in two years that the number of new listings put on the market has exceeded the 1,000 unit mark. The five-year average for new listings in May is 989.
The average sales price of all residential sales increased 31% to $496,664 compared to May 2016. Detached homes sold for an average price of $594,047 an increase of 35.3%, while the average sale price for an apartment style condominium was $293,158, an increase of 25.8%. Townhomes and semis sold for an average of $361,198 (up 30%) and $383,819 (up 29.3%) respectively.
Ongoing demand for homes in Waterloo region has resulted in a shorter sales cycle. The average days on market in May was 12, compared to 24 days a year ago. On a month-to-month basis, it took two additional days on average from list to sale date in May compared to April.
| Single-Detached | All Others | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2016 | May 2017 | % | May 2016 | May 2017 | % | May 2016 | May 2017 | % | |
| Provinces (10,000+) | |||||||||
| N.-L. | 99 | 52 | -47 | 26 | 16 | -38 | 125 | 68 | -46 |
| P.E.I. | 26 | 39 | 50 | 53 | 18 | -66 | 79 | 57 | -28 |
| N.S. | 110 | 120 | 9 | 223 | 207 | -7 | 333 | 327 | -2 |
| N.B. | 86 | 64 | -26 | 113 | 100 | -12 | 199 | 164 | -18 |
| Atlantic | 321 | 275 | -14 | 415 | 341 | -18 | 736 | 616 | -16 |
| Qc | 757 | 674 | -11 | 2,824 | 2,424 | -14 | 3,581 | 3,098 | -13 |
| Ont. | 2,644 | 2,151 | -19 | 3,765 | 2,765 | -27 | 6,409 | 4,916 | -23 |
| Man. | 170 | 257 | 51 | 246 | 568 | 131 | 416 | 825 | 98 |
| Sask. | 189 | 179 | -5 | 65 | 222 | 242 | 254 | 401 | 58 |
| Alta. | 749 | 1,095 | 46 | 948 | 1,485 | 57 | 1,697 | 2,580 | 52 |
| Prairies | 1,108 | 1,531 | 38 | 1,259 | 2,275 | 81 | 2,367 | 3,806 | 61 |
| B.C. | 961 | 1,049 | 9 | 2,001 | 2,889 | 44 | 2,962 | 3,938 | 33 |
| Canada (10,000+) | 5,791 | 5,680 | -2 | 10,264 | 10,694 | 4 | 16,055 | 16,374 | 2 |
| Metropolitan Areas | |||||||||
| Abbotsford-Mission | 49 | 46 | -6 | 60 | 89 | 48 | 109 | 135 | 24 |
| Barrie | 96 | 137 | 43 | 46 | 75 | 63 | 142 | 212 | 49 |
| Belleville | ** | 53 | ## | ** | 22 | ## | ** | 75 | ## |
| Brantford | 43 | 35 | -19 | 2 | 68 | ## | 45 | 103 | 129 |
| Calgary | 243 | 369 | 52 | 405 | 588 | 45 | 648 | 957 | 48 |
| Edmonton | 328 | 487 | 48 | 487 | 803 | 65 | 815 | 1,290 | 58 |
| Greater Sudbury | 10 | 18 | 80 | 10 | 0 | -100 | 20 | 18 | -10 |
| Guelph | 15 | 29 | 93 | 213 | 21 | -90 | 228 | 50 | -78 |
| Halifax | 57 | 69 | 21 | 189 | 181 | -4 | 246 | 250 | 2 |
| Hamilton | 112 | 34 | -70 | 126 | 127 | 1 | 238 | 161 | -32 |
| Kelowna | 64 | 91 | 42 | 155 | 375 | 142 | 219 | 466 | 113 |
| Kingston | 28 | 31 | 11 | 5 | 17 | 240 | 33 | 48 | 45 |
| Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo | 162 | 111 | -31 | 104 | 184 | 77 | 266 | 295 | 11 |
| Lethbridge | ** | 43 | ## | ** | 14 | ## | ** | 57 | ## |
| London | 147 | 140 | -5 | 387 | 95 | -75 | 534 | 235 | -56 |
| Moncton | 41 | 30 | -27 | 22 | 90 | 309 | 63 | 120 | 90 |
| Montréal | 277 | 294 | 6 | 1,726 | 1,571 | -9 | 2,003 | 1,865 | -7 |
| Oshawa | 126 | 69 | -45 | 90 | 20 | -78 | 216 | 89 | -59 |
| Ottawa-Gatineau | 254 | 220 | -13 | 441 | 522 | 18 | 695 | 742 | 7 |
| Gatineau | 18 | 34 | 89 | 128 | 92 | -28 | 146 | 126 | -14 |
| Ottawa | 236 | 186 | -21 | 313 | 430 | 37 | 549 | 616 | 12 |
| Peterborough | 40 | 29 | -28 | 90 | 8 | -91 | 130 | 37 | -72 |
| Québec | 121 | 78 | -36 | 500 | 292 | -42 | 621 | 370 | -40 |
| Regina | 56 | 49 | -13 | 38 | 190 | 400 | 94 | 239 | 154 |
| Saguenay | 32 | 24 | -25 | 20 | 29 | 45 | 52 | 53 | 2 |
| St. Catharines-Niagara | 164 | 116 | -29 | 35 | 64 | 83 | 199 | 180 | -10 |
| Saint John | 17 | 16 | -6 | 1 | 0 | -100 | 18 | 16 | -11 |
| St. John’s | 82 | 38 | -54 | 20 | 13 | -35 | 102 | 51 | -50 |
| Saskatoon | 122 | 102 | -16 | 4 | 12 | 200 | 126 | 114 | -10 |
| Sherbrooke | 17 | 28 | 65 | 58 | 85 | 47 | 75 | 113 | 51 |
| Thunder Bay | 15 | 9 | -40 | 8 | 44 | 450 | 23 | 53 | 130 |
| Toronto | 934 | 653 | -30 | 1,987 | 1,296 | -35 | 2,921 | 1,949 | -33 |
| Trois-Rivières | 21 | 16 | -24 | 48 | 36 | -25 | 69 | 52 | -25 |
| Vancouver | 528 | 461 | -13 | 1,483 | 2,021 | 36 | 2,011 | 2,482 | 23 |
| Victoria | 87 | 74 | -15 | 137 | 105 | -23 | 224 | 179 | -20 |
| Windsor | 77 | 75 | -3 | 122 | 21 | -83 | 199 | 96 | -52 |
| Winnipeg | 158 | 234 | 48 | 240 | 488 | 103 | 398 | 722 | 81 |
| Total | 4,523 | 4,308 | -5 | 9,259 | 9,566 | 3 | 13,782 | 13,874 | 1 |
Data for 2016 based on 2011 Census Definitions.
Data for 2017 based on 2016 Census Definitions. Housing Sales Increased
Source: Market Analysis Centre, CMHC
** Belleville and Lethbridge were not metropolitan areas in 2016.
## not calculable/extreme value Housing Sales Increased
| Single-Detached | All Others | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2017 | May 2017 | % | April 2017 | May 2017 | % | April 2017 | May 2017 | % | |
| Provinces (10,000+) | |||||||||
| N.L. | 457 | 447 | -2 | 151 | 181 | 20 | 608 | 628 | 3 |
| P.E.I. | 358 | 418 | 17 | 48 | 216 | 350 | 406 | 634 | 56 |
| N.S. | 1,005 | 1,282 | 28 | 5,060 | 2,547 | -50 | 6,065 | 3,829 | -37 |
| N.B. | 592 | 630 | 6 | 167 | 951 | 469 | 759 | 1,581 | 108 |
| Qc | 6,469 | 5,800 | -10 | 31,888 | 23,135 | -27 | 38,357 | 28,935 | -25 |
| Ont. | 28,612 | 21,391 | -25 | 42,697 | 29,897 | -30 | 71,309 | 51,288 | -28 |
| Man. | 2,542 | 3,129 | 23 | 2,004 | 6,816 | 240 | 4,546 | 9,945 | 119 |
| Sask. | 2,084 | 1,978 | -5 | 1,284 | 2,664 | 107 | 3,368 | 4,642 | 38 |
| Alta. | 12,513 | 13,131 | 5 | 17,058 | 17,678 | 4 | 29,571 | 30,809 | 4 |
| B.C. | 11,057 | 11,618 | 5 | 32,745 | 34,609 | 6 | 43,802 | 46,227 | 6 |
| Canada (10,000+) | 65,689 | 59,824 | -9 | 133,102 | 118,694 | -11 | 198,791 | 178,518 | -10 |
| Canada (All Areas) | 76,837 | 71,624 | -7 | 136,665 | 123,041 | -10 | 213,498 | 194,663 | -9 |
| Metropolitan Areas | |||||||||
| Abbotsford-Mission | 441 | 527 | 20 | 780 | 1,068 | 37 | 1,221 | 1,595 | 31 |
| Barrie | 56 | 1,006 | ## | 648 | 900 | 39 | 704 | 1,906 | 171 |
| Belleville | 380 | 358 | -6 | 132 | 264 | 100 | 512 | 622 | 21 |
| Brantford | 59 | 280 | 375 | 168 | 816 | 386 | 227 | 1,096 | 383 |
| Calgary | 4,669 | 4,783 | 2 | 8,364 | 7,056 | -16 | 13,033 | 11,839 | -9 |
| Edmonton | 4,401 | 5,885 | 34 | 6,444 | 9,636 | 50 | 10,845 | 15,521 | 43 |
| Greater Sudbury | 151 | 169 | 12 | 48 | 0 | -100 | 199 | 169 | -15 |
| Guelph | 280 | 346 | 24 | 1,080 | 252 | -77 | 1,360 | 598 | -56 |
| Halifax | 606 | 661 | 9 | 4,848 | 2,172 | -55 | 5,454 | 2,833 | -48 |
| Hamilton | 186 | 252 | 35 | 2,280 | 1,524 | -33 | 2,466 | 1,776 | -28 |
| Kelowna | 1,287 | 1,100 | -15 | 3,516 | 4,500 | 28 | 4,803 | 5,600 | 17 |
| Kingston | 263 | 314 | 19 | 288 | 204 | -29 | 551 | 518 | -6 |
| Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo | 1,576 | 1,390 | -12 | 948 | 2,208 | 133 | 2,524 | 3,598 | 43 |
| Lethbridge | 457 | 505 | 11 | 168 | 168 | – | 625 | 673 | 8 |
| London | 1,737 | 1,349 | -22 | 456 | 1,140 | 150 | 2,193 | 2,489 | 13 |
| Moncton | 194 | 235 | 21 | 120 | 1,080 | ## | 314 | 1,315 | 319 |
| Montréal | 2,682 | 2,746 | 2 | 17,347 | 18,001 | 4 | 20,029 | 20,747 | 4 |
| Oshawa | 1,031 | 724 | -30 | 84 | 240 | 186 | 1,115 | 964 | -14 |
| Ottawa-Gatineau | 1,780 | 2,119 | 19 | 5,112 | 6,264 | 23 | 6,892 | 8,383 | 22 |
| Gatineau | 191 | 388 | 103 | 972 | 1,104 | 14 | 1,163 | 1,492 | 28 |
| Ottawa | 1,589 | 1,731 | 9 | 4,140 | 5,160 | 25 | 5,729 | 6,891 | 20 |
| Peterborough | 420 | 268 | -36 | 132 | 96 | -27 | 552 | 364 | -34 |
| Québec | 700 | 643 | -8 | 6,240 | 3,504 | -44 | 6,940 | 4,147 | -40 |
| Regina | 991 | 711 | -28 | 756 | 2,280 | 202 | 1,747 | 2,991 | 71 |
| Saguenay | 220 | 205 | -7 | 240 | 348 | 45 | 460 | 553 | 20 |
| St. Catharines-Niagara | 1,640 | 1,359 | -17 | 876 | 768 | -12 | 2,516 | 2,127 | -15 |
| Saint John | 168 | 158 | -6 | 0 | 0 | – | 168 | 158 | -6 |
| St. John’s | 340 | 333 | -2 | 72 | 156 | 117 | 412 | 489 | 19 |
| Saskatoon | 1,184 | 1,000 | -16 | 276 | 144 | -48 | 1,460 | 1,144 | -22 |
| Sherbrooke | 306 | 315 | 3 | 948 | 1,020 | 8 | 1,254 | 1,335 | 6 |
| Thunder Bay | 66 | 107 | 62 | 48 | 528 | ## | 114 | 635 | 457 |
| Toronto | 12,377 | 7,034 | -43 | 28,224 | 15,552 | -45 | 40,601 | 22,586 | -44 |
| Trois-Rivières | 198 | 133 | -33 | 360 | 432 | 20 | 558 | 565 | 1 |
| Vancouver | 4,619 | 4,881 | 6 | 24,852 | 24,252 | -2 | 29,471 | 29,133 | -1 |
| Victoria | 947 | 1,075 | 14 | 1,560 | 1,260 | -19 | 2,507 | 2,335 | -7 |
| Windsor | 1,061 | 838 | -21 | 240 | 252 | 5 | 1,301 | 1,090 | -16 |
| Winnipeg | 2,286 | 2,650 | 16 | 1,920 | 5,856 | 205 | 4,206 | 8,506 | 102 |
Housing Sales Increased
Data based on 2016 Census Definitions. Housing Sales Increased
Source: Market Analysis Centre, CMHC
Housing Sales Increased