The number of homes being sold across Canada is accelerating thanks to interest rate cuts, lower prices in some markets and increasing inventories.

But costs and the types of properties which are being sold vary widely within many of the country’s major metro areas.

RENX Homes offers snapshots of housing sales statistics for Canada’s six largest urban areas – Greater Toronto, Metro Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa - based on October data provided by real estate boards in the regions.

All comparisons noted here are based on year-over-year (October 2024 compared to October 2023). Terminology used is consistent with the terms used in individual markets, as boards present their data in different formats.

Greater Toronto Area

Single-family type housing might be a lot more expensive in the Greater Toronto Area, but detached, semi-detached and townhomes continue to be in greater demand than condominiums.

October data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) shows 1,722 condo sales in October, but this was overshadowed by 4,874 sales of single-family housing (topped by 3,139 detached homes), an almost three-to-one margin.

Average condo apartment prices were down two per cent at $694,038, detached rose 1.2 per cent to $1,462,838, semi-detached was almost flat at $1,108,376, and townhomes declined slightly to $920,201.

Active listings were up almost 25 per cent to 24,481, while sales totalled 6,658, up 44 per cent.

TRREB sees a window of opportunity for home buyers who are now in, or are considering entering, the market.

“Market conditions did tighten in October, but there is still a lot of inventory and therefore choice for home buyers. This choice will keep home price growth moderate over the next few months. However, as inventory is absorbed and home construction continues to lag population growth, selling price growth will accelerate . . .” TRREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer said. 

Greater Montreal

Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB) data also showed a major uptick in activity, rising 44 per cent with 3,824 sales. It marked the fourth most active October since Centris began compiling the data in 2000.

“Activity is taking off in the Montreal area, supported by improved market fluidity. The return of more favourable and sustainable financing conditions is encouraging both sellers and potential buyers to take action, and has increased the pool of households qualifying for a mortgage,” Charles Brant, QPAREB market analysis director, said in its October report.

In a market where renting and multifamily living is more widespread than across much of the rest of Canada, sales of condos were up 47 per cent, single-family homes up 44 per cent and plexes up 34 per cent. 

“Market conditions, which have fluctuated little for single-family homes and condominiums, have remained largely favourable to sellers. Although conditions still favour sellers, plexes are now closer to more balanced conditions,” QPAREB’s report states. “In this context, prices have continued to rise with the rate of increase remaining relatively steady . . .”

Metro Vancouver

Sales in Vancouver jumped 32 per cent to 2,632 after months of being well below the 10-year seasonal average, the Greater Vancouver REALTORS reports. Sales had been tracking about 20 per cent below the 10-year historical average, but in October sales were just five per cent under the standard.

New listings jumped 17 per cent to 5,452 properties, about 20 per cent above the 10-year average. There were 14,477 listings on Metro Vancouver’s MLS listing service, up 25 per cent from the average.

"Typically, reductions to mortgage rates boost demand, and the strong October sales numbers suggest buyers may finally be responding to lower borrowing costs after waiting on the sidelines for months,” Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics and data analytics, said in the monthly report. He attributes this to the four recent interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada.

There were 1,393 “apartment” homes sold, 724 detached houses and 501 attached dwellings.

Average prices were $757,200 for apartments, $2,002,900 for detached and $1,108,800 for attached. Apartment prices dipped 1.6 per cent, while detached and attached homes were up very slightly.

Calgary

The Calgary Real Estate Board reported almost flat sales of 2,174, but like other major cities listings increased significantly with 3,264 new properties. That’s a 22 per cent increase.

Inventory was 4,966 homes, and the monthly trend continued to rise.

As one of the most affordable large cities in Canada, price pressures continued with the average sale at $592,500, up 4.5 per cent. Detached homes led the increases at 10 per cent, averaging $753,900.

Detached homes comprised almost half the sales, at 1,071 with 190 semi-detached sales, 353 rowhouses and 560 apartment homes sold.

Edmonton  

The Greater Edmonton Area experienced a large sales increase, with 2,489 residential transactions, up 39 per cent. New listings were 2,934, up nine per cent but still leaving the market with 17 per cent fewer listed homes than a year ago.

Detached unit sales also dominate this market with 1,431 sales, up 37 per cent. The average price for a detached home was $552,954, while the average for all types of residential homes was $440,089 (an 11 per cent increase).

“The impact of lowering interest rates is keeping us busy, with buyers taking advantage of their increased buying power,” REALTORS Association of Edmonton board chair Melanie Boles said in its monthly report. “The number of units sold has spiked shortly after recent interest rate announcements, and while month-to-month prices are less volatile, overall, they’re still showing a marked increase from last year.”

Ottawa  

Home sales in October rose almost 46 per cent to 1,179, though the average price rose just one per cent to $668,690, the Ottawa Real Estate Board reports. Ottawa also has one of the shortest median times on the market for all listings, at just 24 days.

There were 2,089 new listings during the month, up from 1,892 in 2023. In total, there were 3,354 active listings on the market, up from 3,081.

The market saw 646 single-family home sales, over 50 per cent higher, with an average price of $802,012 - down one per cent. There were 378 townhome sales and 149 apartment sales.