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The demand for Canadian housing dropped by 0.6% in May, but some markets defied the downward trend.
The national sales-to-new-listings ratio (SNLR) fell to 55.5% in May from 56.1% in the same month last year, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
British Columbia’s housing markets made the biggest year-over-year (YOY) losses in May. Fraser Valley had the largest drop with an SNLR of 44.9%, down by 20% from last year. Vancouver came in second with an SNLR of 39.1%, down by 18.6%. Victoria followed with an SNLR of 57%, down by 11.7%.
Calgary made the smallest YOY decline, with an SNLR of 48.9% in May, down by only 0.2%.
Meanwhile, eastern housing markets made the biggest YOY gains in May. Gatineau reached an SNLR of 64.1%, up by 11.4% from last year. Halifax came in second with an SNLR of 69.8%, up by 8.5%. Ottawa followed with an SNLR of 73.8%, up by 6.6%.
Four other markets saw their SNLR rise in May from the same month last year. Montreal had an SNLR of 72.7% (up by 6.5%), Toronto had an SNLR of 51.7% (up by 4.5%), Hamilton had an SNLR of 63.5% (up by 2.6%), and Quebec had an SNLR of 53.9% (up by 2.3%).
The fact that home sales are slowing compared to inventory helps slow down price growth and even lower prices in a few markets, Better Dwelling said.
