Amid recession worries, a global trade war, and a softening job market, Canadians aren’t buying homes — and who can blame them?
What happened: Canada’s housing market experienced its slowest March since 2009 in the aftermath of the Great Recession, new data from the Canadian Real Estate Association shows. Home sales have fallen 9.3% from March last year, and 20% from their recent high in November.
Why it’s happening: Buyers are waiting on the sidelines to see how our trade spat with the Americans unfolds and how the economic damage it causes will impact their finances.
Why it matters: The cooling market is good news for buyers (at least ones with secure jobs and enough cash for a down payment), with prices slowly edging down as sellers compete for a smaller pool of potential homebuyers.
- The national sales-to-new listings ratio — a measure of how many sales happened compared to the number of new listings on the market — is now at 45.9%, its lowest point since February 2009 and on the cusp of a buyer’s market (considered to be 45% and below).
Yes, but: Fewer sales mean developers are slamming the brakes on new home construction, too. Housing starts are down 9% across the country since last year, and in Ontario and B.C., the country’s most expensive markets, they’ve dropped 38% and 30%, respectively.—TS