Canadian Home Sales Post ‘October Surprise’ As Buyers Flood Back

BNN Bloomberg ~ November 18th, 2024

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian home sales rose to their highest level in more than two years as a string of interest rate cuts by the central bank started to draw buyers back to the market.

Transactions surged 7.7% in October from a month earlier to reach the highest level since April 2022, according to data released Friday by the Canadian Real Estate Association. The benchmark price for a home slipped 0.1% to C$716,800 ($509,500), the data show.

Last month, the Bank of Canada cut rates by the most since March 2020, picking up the pace of its campaign to boost the economy. Policymakers said they expect the housing market to respond to lower borrowing costs faster than other sectors, as prospective homebuyers gain more purchasing power from lower rates. And the Bank of Canada has signaled more rate cuts could be coming.

“The jump in home sales last month was definitely an October surprise,” Shaun Cathcart, the real estate board’s senior economist, said in a statement. “You can think of the October numbers as a sort of preview for what we might expect to see next year.”

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