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MNI BRIEF: Canada Home Sales Fall 7th Straight Month in Sept

(MNI) OTTAWA

Canadian home sales fell for a seventh consecutive month in in September and prices declined as higher interest rates crimped buyers, a shift the Bank of Canada has welcomed after a period of frothy gains.

Sales fell 3.9% on the month and 32% from a year earlier, and are 12% below the ten-year average, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Friday. The average price fell 6.6% from a year earlier, steeper than any of the prior declines in this downturn. CREA's price index adjusting to match sales of comparable properties fell 1.4% on the month but rose 3.3% from a year earlier.

"The adjustment to higher borrowing costs is still underway" with "many sellers also opting to play the waiting game," CREA Chair Jill Oudil said in the report. The BOC hiked its benchmark rate 3pp this year and economists see another 50bp at the Oct. 26 decision. The Bank is determined to crush inflation and rattling buyers who have never seen monthly payments surge, former Fed adviser Sherry Cooper has told MNI. (See: MNI INTERVIEW: BOC Is Sounding Like Volcker- Ex-Volcker Aide)

MNI Ottawa Bureau | +1 613-314-9647 | greg.quinn@marketnews.com
MNI Ottawa Bureau | +1 613-314-9647 | greg.quinn@marketnews.com

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