The Canadian Real Estate Association says it recorded the most home sales for August in four years, potentially setting the stage for a hot fall market with more choice for buyers.
The association said there were 40,257 home sales across the country last month, up 1.9% from 39,522 in August 2024. Home sales also rose 1.1% on a month-over-month basis, marking the fifth straight monthly increase. Transactions have risen a cumulative 12.5% since March.
Toronto slows, but other major markets drive gains
Unlike in recent months when gains were led overwhelmingly by the Greater Toronto Area, sales in that region were down slightly month-over-month in August. But the association said this was more than offset by higher sales in Montreal, Greater Vancouver and Ottawa.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart said the upward trend in activity could accelerate this fall as the season usually brings a surge of new supply. “Part of what drives sales at different points in the year is the availability of a lot of fresh property listings for buyers to buy. For the fall market, that always happens right at the beginning of September, and this year was no exception,” he said in a press release. “If last year is any kind of guide, then there is the potential that sales could really pick up in the next month or so depending on how many buyers are drawn off the sidelines, particularly if we see a September rate cut by the Bank of Canada.”
The central bank is set to announce its latest interest rate decision on Wednesday. Financial markets expect the Bank of Canada to cut its policy rate by a quarter point to 2.5%, ending a streak of three consecutive holds.
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Atlantic sales slightly ahead of last year despite challenges
There’s been “muted momentum” as of late in Atlantic Canada, said Halifax-based broker Matt Honsberger, who noted the region experienced a downturn earlier in the year due to uncertainty related to tariffs. Honsberger, president and owner of Royal LePage Atlantic, referred to the Maritime housing market as a “kiddie-coaster” when compared with the larger swings of Toronto’s roller-coaster market. He said Atlantic Canada has seen “much less significant” ups and downs from the U.S.-Canada trade war.
“We were of course affected by tariffs. People just become uncertain and when you’re uncertain you don’t make a big purchase, so we definitely expected a busier spring than we got,” said Honsberger. “But at this point in the year given everything that’s gone on, to be slightly ahead of where we were this time last year in terms of the number of trades, I think we’ll all take it. Hopefully we’ll continue to build momentum into next year as people get more and more comfortable with the geopolitical environment.”
Canada’s average home price up 1.8% year-over-year
CREA said new listings were up 2.6% month-over-month nationally in August. There were 195,453 properties listed for sale across Canada at the end of August, up 8.8% from a year earlier. The actual national average sale price of a home sold in August was $664,078, up 1.8% from a year ago. CREA’s own home price index, which aims to represent the sale of typical homes, ticked 0.1% lower between July and August 2025.
TD economist Rishi Sondhi said improving demand should contribute to the continued growth of average home prices. He said supply and demand conditions are still “relatively tight” across several provinces. “In contrast, market balances favour buyers in B.C. and Ontario,” Sondhi said in a note. “However, average home prices in these markets have been lifted by the outperformance of more expensive housing in recent months, and we assume this trend will continue in coming months.”
Honsberger said despite renewed demand, it’s important that sellers price their properties appropriately as the market isn’t yet seeing all-out bidding wars.
“What we’re hearing from clients is that sellers still want to potentially overprice their property a little bit and buyers are just saying, ‘I’m not interested. I’ll just wait it out,’” he said. “It’s still a healthy market … If you put it on at the right price now, you should expect some level of activity, and you should probably expect to sell it in a reasonable amount of time.”
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