The number of homes that changed hands across the country in December was up 19.2 per cent compared with a year earlier, as the Canadian Real Estate Association says a strong fourth quarter bodes well for a rebound in sales in 2025.
The association says the final three months of last year saw sales rise 10 per cent from the third quarter, marking one of the busiest quarters in the last 20 years, aside from the pandemic.
A total of 27,643 homes changed hands last month across Canada, compared with 23,190 in December 2023, following a 26 per cent year-over-year rise in November and a 30 per cent increase of sales in October.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, Canadian home sales in December fell 5.8 per cent from November, but remained 13 per cent above where they were in May, just before the Bank of Canada's first of five interest rate cuts last year.
The central bank's policy rate stands at 3.25 per cent, with its next decision to be announced Jan. 29.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart said the association continues to forecast a "significant unleashing of demand" this spring, when it expects interest rates to bottom out and sellers to list properties in big numbers.
The national average sale price for December rose 2.5 per cent compared with a year earlier to $676,640.
TD economist Rishi Sondhi called December a "subdued month" in terms of activity, but cautioned that it tends to be a low volume sales month.
He said housing markets in Ontario and B.C. likely still have "significant pent-up demand" and a relatively high share of homes that will benefit from federal mortgage rule changes.
"Our baseline expects a solid gain in Canadian home sales and average home prices this year, although the macro backdrop remains highly uncertain due to tariff threats," Sondhi wrote in a report.
There were around 128,000 properties listed for sale across the country at the end of the year, up 7.8 per cent from the end of 2023 but still below the historical average of 150,000 for that time of year.
The number of newly listed properties was down 1.7 per cent month-over-month.
"While housing market activity may take a breather over the winter with fewer properties for sale, the fall market rebound serves as a good preview of what could happen this spring," CREA chair James Mabey said in a news release.
"Spring in real estate always comes earlier than both sellers and buyers anticipate. The outlook is for buyers to start coming off the sidelines in big numbers in just a few months from now."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2025.
Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press
