Canada home prices slide again as snowstorm chills buying

[OTTAWA] The Canadian housing market started the year in deep freeze as both prices and sales continued their downward trend.

The benchmark home price fell for the 14th straight month in January, declining 0.9 per cent to C$665,200 (S$615,606) – the lowest level in almost five years – according to seasonally adjusted data from the Canadian Real Estate Association. Sales of existing homes plunged by 5.8 per cent month over month as densely populated regions were hit with a major winter storm.

The benchmark price dropped by 5 per cent from January 2025, while sales activity came in 16 per cent lower than a year ago.

The chill in buying activity was largely concentrated in southern Ontario, so it was more likely attributable to the weather than a decline in demand, CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart said in a statement.

With prices remaining down in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, “we continue to expect 2026 will ultimately be defined by pent-up demand from first-time buyers finally seeing a chance to enter the market,” Cathcart said.

New home listings rose 7.3 per cent from the previous month, pushing the sales-to-new-listings ratio down to 45 per cent – the bottom end of the range that CREA considers “generally consistent with balanced housing market conditions.” BLOOMBERG