Declines in Canadian Home Sales Take a Pause in April Despite Ongoing Tariff Pressures
Monthly Housing Market Report
NATIONAL RESIDENTIAL STATISTICS
Ottawa, ON May 15, 2025 – The number of sales recorded over Canadian MLS® Systems was unchanged (-0.1%) between March and April 2025, marking a pause in the trend of declining activity since the beginning of the year. (Chart A)
Demand is currently hovering around levels seen during the second half of 2022, and the first and third quarters of 2023.
“At this point, the 2025 Canadian housing story would best be described as a return to the quiet markets we’ve experienced since 2022, with tariff uncertainty taking the place of high interest rates in keeping buyers on the sidelines,” said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s Senior Economist. “Given the increasing potential for a rough economic patch ahead, the risk going forward will be if an average number of people trying to sell their homes turns into a large number of people who have to sell their homes, and that’s something we have not seen in decades.”
April Highlights:
National home sales were unchanged (-0.1%) month-over-month.
Actual (not seasonally adjusted) monthly activity came in 9.8% below April 2024.
The number of newly listed properties fell 1% on a month-over-month basis.
The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) declined 1.2% month-over-month and was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis.
The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average sale price was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis.
Chart A
New supply declined by 1% month-over-month in April. Combined with flat sales, the national sales-to-new listings ratio climbed to 46.8% compared to 46.4% in March. The long-term average for the national sales-to-new listings ratio is 54.9%, with readings between 45% and 65% generally consistent with balanced housing market conditions.
There were 183,000 properties listed for sale on all Canadian MLS® Systems at the end of April 2025, up 14.3% from a year earlier but still below the long-term average for that time of the year of around 201,000 listings.
“The number of homes for sale across Canada has almost returned to normal, but that is the result of higher inventories in B.C. and Ontario, and tight inventories everywhere else,” said Valérie Paquin, CREA Chair. “If you’re looking to buy or sell a property in 2025, you’ll need to understand your local market, so contact a REALTOR® in your area today.”
There were 5.1 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of April 2025, in line with the long-term average of five months of inventory. Based on one standard deviation above and below that long-term average, a seller’s market would be below 3.6 months and a buyer’s market would be above 6.4 months.
The National Composite MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) declined by 1.2% from March to April 2025. The non-seasonally adjusted National Composite MLS® HPI was down 3.6% compared to March 2024. (Chart B)
Chart B
The non-seasonally adjusted national average home price was $679,866 in April 2025, down 3.9% from April 2024.
The next CREA statistics package will be published on Monday, June 16, 2025.
