Market Watch: Homebuyers Benefit from Greater Choice and Improved Affordability.

Homeownership costs are more affordable this year compared to last year. Average selling prices are lower, and so too are borrowing costs. All else being equal, sales should be up relative to 2024. The issue is a lack of economic confidence. Once households are convinced that trade stability with the United States will be established and/or real options to mitigate our reliance on the United States exist, home sales will pick up. Further cuts in borrowing costs would also be welcome news to homebuyers.

Ontario - Homebuyers Benefit from Greater Choice and Improved Affordability. 

Toronto, June 6, 2025 -- The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) housing market experienced an improvement in affordability in May 2025 relative to the same period a year earlier. With sales down and listings up, homebuyers took advantage of increased inventory and negotiating power.

“Looking at the GTA as a whole, homebuyers have certainly benefited from greater choice and improved affordability this year. However, each neighbourhood and market segment have their own nuances. Buyers considering a home purchase should connect with a REALTOR® who is knowledgeable about their preferred area and property type. In today’s market, working with a REALTOR® who brings expertise, the right tools, and a strong network is essential,” said Toronto Regional Real Estate Board President Elechia Barry-Sproule.

GTA REALTORS® reported 6,244 home sales through TRREB’s MLS® System in May 2025 – down by 13.3% compared to May 2024. New listings entered into the MLS® System amounted to 21,819 – up by 14% year-over-year.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, May home sales were up month-over-month compared to April 2025. This was the second monthly increase in a row. New listings were also up compared to April, but by a lesser monthly rate than sales, suggesting a slight tightening in market conditions.

“Home ownership costs are more affordable this year compared to last. Average selling prices are lower, and so too are borrowing costs. All else being equal, sales should be up relative to 2024. The issue is a lack of economic confidence. Once households are convinced that trade stability with the United States will be established and/or real options to mitigate our reliance on the United States exist, home sales will pick up. Further cuts in borrowing costs would also be welcome news to homebuyers,” said Jason Mercer, TRREB’s Chief Information Officer.

The MLS® Home Price Index Composite benchmark was down by 4.5% year-over-year in May 2025. The average selling price, at $1,120,879, was down by 4% compared to May 2024. On a month-over-month seasonally adjusted basis, the MLS® HPI Composite and average selling price both edged up compared to April 2025.

“With the federal government’s housing commitments reiterated in the Throne Speech, we now need concrete actions that will restore housing affordability across the GTA and the rest of Canada. This includes lowering high housing taxes and fees, embracing innovative construction technologies, and streamlining processes to reignite the construction of homes. Home construction is associated with huge economic benefits that would help mitigate the negative impact of ongoing trade disputes. Additionally, with inflation remaining low, a rate cut would be a welcome move, particularly for first-time buyers and those renewing their mortgages”, said TRREB CEO John DiMichele.

Ottawa Market Remains Steady as Delayed Spring Spurs Buyer Confidence

Ottawa, June 6, 2025 -- The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Ottawa Real Estate Board (OREB) totaled 1,807 units in May 2025. This represented a 33.1% increase from the previous month, but a more modest 14.9% increase from May 2024 and 2.5% above the five-year average.*

“Year-to-date home sales activity remains in line with 2024; however, the 33.1% surge over April 2025 suggests we’re experiencing a delayed spring market,” says OREB President Paul Czan. “April’s federal election took up real estate in consumers’ minds. Now, we’re seeing a shift in the marketplace, with active listings on the rise and months of inventory holding steady. Buyers appear to be gaining confidence, re-entering the market, and transacting. For sellers, however, rising inventory means that competitive pricing and strong presentation are more critical than ever.”

“Compared to markets like Toronto or Vancouver, which are seeing signs of stagnation, Ottawa is holding steady,” adds Czan. “Buyers and sellers are still able to transact fairly, with sale prices remaining close to list, even amid broader economic uncertainty. And the Bank of Canada’s recent decision to hold the key interest rate steady may spur more activity, as buyers grow more confident, they’re not missing out on further downward movement.”

By the Numbers – Prices:

The overall MLS® HPI composite benchmark price was $629,800 in May 2025; a 0.8% rise compared to May 2024.

The benchmark price for single-family homes was $700,000, up 0.6% year-over-year in May.

By comparison, the benchmark price for a townhouse/row unit** was $446,900, an increase of 3.4% from 2024.

The benchmark apartment price was $404,700, a 3.6% decline from the previous year.

The average price of homes sold in May 2025 was $728,623 a 4.8% increase from May 2024.

The total dollar volume of all home sales in May 2025 amounted to $1.316 billion, a 20.4% increase compared to the same period last year.

OREB cautions that the average sale price can be useful in establishing trends over time but should not be used as an indicator that specific properties have increased or decreased in value. The calculation of the average sale price is based on the total dollar volume of all properties sold. Prices will vary from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.

By the Numbers – Inventory & New Listings:

The number of new listings increased by 8.7% compared to May 2024, with 3,430 new residential properties added to the market. New listings were 15.8% above the five-year average.

Active residential listings totaled 4,347 units at the end of May 2025, reflecting a 13.5% surge from May 2024. Active listings were 54.2% above the five-year average.

Months of inventory remained steady at 2.4 in May 2025, unchanged from the same period last year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

British Columbia - Uncertainty Continues to Hold Back Sales Activity in BC

Vancouver, BC – June 12, 2025. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that 6,945 residential unit sales were recorded in Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) Systems in May 2025, down 13.5% from May 2024. The average MLS® residential price in BC in May 2025 was down 4.2% at $959,058 compared to $1,001,341 in May 2024.

chart - The total sales dollar volume was $6.7 billion, a 17.1% decrease from the same time the previous year. BC MLS® unit sales were 26% lower than the ten-year May average.

“All regions of BC have seen declining home sales activity through the first five months of the year with more expensive markets slowing the most,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “Given that uncertainty is the main driver of the slowdown, we should see activity begin to recover as that uncertainty hopefully fades over the second half of the year.”

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume is down 12.8% to $27.4 billion, compared with the same period in 2024. Residential unit sales are down 9% year-over-year at 28,692 units, while the average MLS® residential price is also down 4.2% to $954,312.

Alberta - Price Adjustments Mostly Driven by Apartment and Row Style Homes

Calgary, Alberta, June 2, 2025 – Thanks to steep pullbacks in the apartment condominium sector, total residential sales in Calgary eased by 17% compared to May of last year. While the drop does seem significant, the 2,568 sales this month remain 11% higher than long-term trends for May and improved over last month.

New listings continued to rise this month compared to sales, resulting in further gains in inventory levels. However, the monthly gain in both inventory and sales prevented any significant change in the months of supply compared to April. With 2.6 months of supply, conditions are still relatively balanced.  

“Compared to last year, easing sales and rising inventories are consistent trends across many cities, as uncertainty continues to weigh on housing demand. However, prior to the economic uncertainty, Calgary was dealing with seller market conditions, and the recent pullbacks in sales and inventory have helped shift us toward balanced conditions, taking the pressure off prices,” said Ann-Marie Lurie, Chief Economist at CREB®. “This is a different situation from some of the other larger cities, where their housing markets were struggling prior to the addition of economic uncertainty.”    

Last year, there was limited inventory across most property types and price ranges. Recent inventory gains are creating pockets of the market that are struggling with too much supply, while in other areas, supply levels are still low relative to the demand, resulting in divergent trends in home prices. Both detached and semi-detached home prices have remained relatively stable this month and are still higher than last year’s levels. Meanwhile, row and apartment style homes have reported modest monthly price declines, and May prices remain below last year’s levels, as improved new home and rental supply is weighing on resale prices. Overall, the total residential unadjusted benchmark price in Calgary was $589,900, slightly lower than last month and over two% below May 2024 levels. 

May Housing Statistics: 

Detached - New listings in May rose to 2,419 units, with most of the gains driven by homes priced over $600,000. At the same time, sales activity has slowed across most price ranges, supporting a shift toward more balanced conditions and relative stability in prices. However, districts that are facing more competition from new home products or are seeing a larger pullback in demand are starting to show some signs of elevated supply. 

The North East district has seen the largest pullback in resale sales activity combined with some of the highest gains in new listings. This has driven the sales-to-new listings ratio down to 41%, and the months of supply was nearly four months in May. This is causing prices to ease in the North East, offsetting some of the gains reported in the City Centre, West, and North West districts. City-wide the unadjusted benchmark price in May was $769,400, similar to last month, one percent higher than last May, and still above last year’s seasonal peak price.  

Semi-Detached - The 428 new listings in May were met with 256 sales, causing the sales-to-new-listings ratio to rise to 60% this month. This slowed the pace of inventory growth and the months of supply remained just above two months.  Semi-detached homes continue to remain less than 10% of all sales and inventory levels in the city. This in part is due to construction patterns shifting toward more row style properties over semi-detached, and is one of the reasons we do not see the same inventory build as row and apartment style homes.  

Like the detached market, there is significant variation within the city districts. The North East has the highest months of supply at nearly three months and is reporting some price declines, while the tightest conditions are in the North West, where prices continue to rise. Overall, generally tighter conditions are still supporting price gains for semi-detached properties. In April the unadjusted benchmark price was $697,300, a monthly gain of less than 1%, nearly 3% higher than last year’s levels and above last year’s seasonal peak.

Row - Row home sales have eased over last year’s near record high pace, but stayed well above long-term trends.  However, the gain in new listings has continued to cause further inventory gains. For the second month in a row, inventory levels were over 1,000 units; we have not seen this much inventory for row units since 2021. 

While inventory levels have improved across all districts, we are starting to see higher months of supply in the North East district at 3.5 months, resulting in some downward pressure on prices. The North, North West, and South areas have also reported higher year-over-year pullbacks in resale prices, as improved supply choice for new properties are impacting resale activity. Overall, the benchmark price in May was $453,600, down over last month, nearly 2% below last May, and lower than last year’s seasonal high.  

Apartment Condominium - Sales this month totaled 579 units, a significant decline over last May’s record high of 907 units. While new listings were lower than levels reported last year, they remained high compared to sales, causing the sales-to-new listings ratio to drop to 47% this month. This contributed to further inventory gains and drove the months of supply up to 3.6 months. High levels of apartment rental units under construction are adding to the rental supply and contributing to rent adjustments. This is likely slowing condo ownership demand coming from existing renters and potential investors, contributing to some of the shifts witnessed in the apartment condominium sector.  

More supply choices are also weighing on condominium prices. In May the benchmark price eased to $335,300, down from last month and over 1% lower than last year. The steepest declines are occurring in the North East and South East districts, where competition from the new home market is weighing on resale pricing. While prices have eased and are below peak levels, recent declines have not offset the double-digit gains reported over the past two years.

REGIONAL MARKET FACTS

Airdrie - While improving over last month, May sales eased compared to last year, contributing to the year-to-date decline of 10%. However, the 772 sales so far this year are consistent with long-term trends in Airdrie. At the same time new listings continue to rise causing the sales-to-new listings ratio to fall to 58%, still well within balanced conditions, but a significant change from the over 90% ratio reported last year. Recent shifts in sales and new listings have supported gains in inventory levels. In May there were 468 units in inventory, reflecting the highest May reported since prior to the pandemic.

The shift in supply is in part related to the surge in new construction, providing more options for potential consumers. Additional supply choice is impacting price growth. The total residential benchmark price was $540,600 in May, down nearly 1% over last month and nearly 2% below last year’s levels.

Cochrane - Sales in Cochrane were fairly resilient until this month, where sales were 17% slower than last year. The decline was enough to cause year-to-date sales to ease to levels just below those reported last year.  At the same time, this month new listings surged, driving the sales-to-new-listings ratio down to 55% and supporting further inventory gains.  With 293 units available in May, levels are more consistent with long-term trends. The months of supply neared three months in May and while this did slow the pace of price growth, the total residential benchmark price of $589,400 is still nearly 4% higher than last May.

Okotoks - A boost in new listings this month supported a surge in sales activity. However, with a sales-to-new-listings ratio of 74%, inventory levels did not change much over last month and the months of supply once again dropped below two months. Okotoks has struggled to add supply at the pace reported in Calgary, Cochrane and Airdrie and sales growth has been dampened by limited supply choice. While there have been some improvements in inventory levels, as of May levels remained nearly 28% below long-term trends for the city.  The limited supply choice given the relatively strong demand has continue to support some price growth in the town. As of May the unadjusted benchmark price was $633,900, up over last month and over 2% higher than last year.