Year 2023 Witnesses Sharp Decline in Home Sales, Prices Show Modest Increase

The year 2023 concluded with a notable decrease in home sales, totaling 2,211 units over the course of the year. This figure marks a significant downturn of 11.6% from the previous year, signaling a challenging market landscape.

Despite the decrease in sales volume, the more comprehensive annual average price of homes showed a modest gain. The average price for the entirety of 2023 settled at $314,988, reflecting a slight increase of 2.3% from the previous year.

As the year drew to a close, active residential listings numbered 320 units on the market by the end of December. This figure represents a decrease of 4.5%, equivalent to 15 listings, compared to December 2022. The scarcity in listings becomes even more pronounced when considering that active listings were 14.8% below the five-year average and a staggering 57.4% below the 10-year average for the month of December.

The combination of decreased sales volume and dwindling active listings poses challenges for both buyers and sellers navigating the real estate market.

Higher interest rates have played a crucial role in buyers’ affordability. For now the Bank of Canada has not increased the interest rate, but some economists are predicting a cut to interest rate in June 2024, but central bank’s governor, Tiff Macklem said that inflation was still high and that it was premature to discuss a cut to interest rates.