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MNI BRIEF: Canada Home Sales Have 1st Gain Since BOC Tightened

(MNI) OTTAWA
OTTAWA (MNI)

Canadian home sales posted the first monthly gain since the BOC began hiking in March, with the national realtor group suggesting the market has largely adjusted to higher borrowing costs and may return to sustained growth.

Sales rose 1.3% in October from September, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Tuesday, following a prior decline of 3.9%. The group's price index that compares sales of similar types of properties posted the smallest decline since June at 1.2%.

The BOC raised its overnight rate from a record low 0.25% in March to the highest since 2008 at 3.75% last month, with Governor Tiff Macklem saying the end of the cycle is nearing. (See: MNI INTERVIEW: BOC Nearly Done Hiking On Stall Risk-Ex Adviser) More homes have also come back on the market with 3.8 months of inventory up from a record low 1.7 months at the start of the year.

“We’ve known the demand was there, so it’s just been a matter of some playing the waiting game as borrowing costs and prices have adjusted," CREA Chair Jill Oudil said.

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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