Canadian home prices rose for the first time in a year in March after the country’s central bank halted its interest rate hikes and sellers remained hesitant to list their properties.
(Bloomberg) — Canadian home prices rose for the first time in a year in March after the country’s central bank halted its interest rate hikes and sellers remained hesitant to list their properties.
The national benchmark price for a home climbed 0.2% to C$709,000 ($531,000) in March from February, according to data released Friday by the Canadian Real Estate Association. That’s the first increase after a year of month-over-month declines.
Canadian home values have posted one of their fastest plunges on record as the Bank of Canada’s aggressive tightening campaign raised borrowing costs. But with the central bank declaring a pause in January and keeping rates unchanged at its last two meetings, the housing market is showing signs of stabilizing. Strong population growth, thanks to the government’s immigration policy, is running up against a limited supply of homes for sale.
The number of properties hitting the market plunged 5.8% from February, according to the CREA data. The number of sales rose 1.4% month-over-month.
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