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In September 2025, sales of Canadian homes edged up 5.2 % year-over-year according to CREA, and September was the best such month since 2021. However, the gain is misleading because on a longer time-frame the performance remains in the lower tier of outcomes: sales actually fell 1.7 % from August to September despite this being a seasonally active period. Major markets such as Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Montreal all experienced slower activity, leaving only Toronto and Winnipeg as exceptions.
Active listings rose about 7.5 % year-over-year to nearly 200,000 properties in September, while sales remained well below long-term averages. The sales-to-new-listings ratio fell to 50.7 % (below its long-run mean of 54.9 %) and months-of-inventory rose to about 4.4 months—still within traditional “balanced market” thresholds but increasingly leaning toward buyer advantage in today’s faster market conditions.
On pricing and sentiment, the story is one of flat-lining rather than recovery. The MLS Home Price Index was effectively unchanged from August to September, and down about 3.4 % year-over-year. Meanwhile, employment and wage growth are weakening, making households cautious about taking on long-term debt even as mortgage rates show signs of normalizing. With population growth tailing off and policy signals mixed, the market appears locked in limbo: neither collapsing nor rebounding, but stuck in a holding pattern until affordability, confidence or supply dynamics shift meaningfully.
Read the full article on: REAL ESTATE MAGAZINE
