Canada’s housing market falls back as tariffs and rate fears bite
Canada’s housing market retreated in September, snapping a four-month run of tentative improvement as escalating Canada-US trade tensions and rising Bank of Canada (BoC) rate expectations converged.
National resales fell 2.3% month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted basis. The MLS Home Price Index declined 0.4% from August, sitting 3.5% below year-ago levels, and new listings contracted 1.8%, according to an RBC Economics report by Rachel Battaglia, economist at Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) in Toronto.
“After a four-month run of modestly positive progress on demand, supply, and prices, many of Canada’s housing markets took a step back in September,” said Shaun Cathcart, senior economist at the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) in Ottawa.
