Canadian Home Sales Increase for the First Time in 2025; Are Home Buyers Regaining Confidence?
For the first time since November last year, Canadian home sales were up when comparing month-over-month data.
The latest data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) shows the number of home sales rose 3.6% in May compared to April, a potential sign home buyers are regaining confidence following months of tariff talk and uncertainty that came with such polices from U.S. President Donald Trump. The main markets moving the needle most were the Greater Toronto Area, Calgary and Ottawa.
“We had predicted a rebound year—it was supposed to be a ‘slam dunk’ forecast—and obviously the whole tariff uncertainly chaos sort of derailed that for a time,” said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s Senior Economist, in this month’s CREA Housing Market Report (watch below). “Some of that rebound that we were expecting may have just moved from the first half of the year to the second, but it’s still not going to be a blow-the-doors-off year, there is still a lot of uncertainly out there, but I think we’ve turned a corner.”
May 2025 Real Estate Report
Before we get into what happened with average prices and new listings, here’s a snapshot of the recently released CREA data:
- National home sales were up 3.6% in May compared to April.
- Actual (not seasonally adjusted) monthly activity came in 4.3% below May 2024.
- The number of newly listed properties rose 3.1% on a month-over-month basis.
- The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) was almost unchanged (-0.2%) month-over-month and was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis.
- The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average sale price was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis.
A Look at Home Prices Across Canada
The National Composite MLS® Home Price Index (HPI)—an exclusive tool REALTORS® have access to in order to best gauge a neighbourhood’s home price levels and trends—was relatively unchanged (-0.2%) from April to May. The non-seasonally adjusted national average price for a home was $691,299, down 1.8% from May 2024.
Of course, what’s happening in your province doesn’t mean the same thing is happening elsewhere. Here’s a breakdown of pricing activity across Canda, according to Cathcart:
- If you’re in Quebec or the East Coast, prices have been rising for the last three years and that’s still evident today. This makes sense as Canada’s more affordable markets did better when interest rates climbed to 5%, Cathcart explains.
- In the Prairies, prices are higher in most places, except for Calgary, as it’s a more expensive market. “They sort of topped out over the last year,” Cathcart says in the Housing Market Report.
- In British Columbia, prices are falling, especially in the Lower Mainland.
- Ontario was the hardest hit market since the beginning of 2025, but a strong May helped move the national numbers. “The big news today is that in a lot of markets in Ontario prices stopped falling and even ticked up in some places, definitely in that Greater Golden Horseshoe area and a little bit of southern Ontario as well,” mentions Cathcart.
Will Home Sales Surge in the Second Half of 2025?
Cathcart says while it’s early to get a full scope of what June’s numbers will shake out to be, the daily tracking shows a continued resurgence in sales.
“I do expect at least one more month (of higher sales),” Cathcart says.
New listings rose 3.1% in May compared to April, meaning with the increase of sales, the national sales-to-new-listings ratio remained virtually unchanged at 47%. 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.
“May saw an increased number of new listings hitting the market early in the month, followed by a higher number of transactions in the second half of the month, so overall more sellers and buyers compared to April,” says Valérie Paquin, CREA Chair.
