Canadian Housing Market – March 2025 Snapshot

🏠 Home Sales

• Fell 4.8% in March compared to February.
• Down 20% from the recent high in November 2024.
• On a year-over-year basis, sales were down 9.3%.
• Lowest March sales volume since 2009.

💵 Home Prices

• Home Price Index: Down 1% month-over-month.
• Annually: Index fell 2.1%, national average price down 3.7%.

📉 Market Sentiment

• CREA’s senior economist notes that:
  • Early slowdown was due to tariff-related uncertainty.
  • Now shifting to concerns about broader economic fallout.
  • Optimism for a rebound has been replaced by a “treading water” scenario.

🌍 Global Trade Impact

• U.S.-Canada trade tensions (e.g., Trump-era tariffs on Canadian autos) weighing heavily on confidence.
• Despite interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada, the market is not rebounding.

📉 CREA’s 2025 Forecast Slashed

• New forecast: 482,673 residential sales in 2025.
• Barely changed from 2024.
• Original January forecast anticipated an 8.6% increase in sales — now withdrawn.

🏗️ Housing Starts

• Dropped 3.3% in March (MoM).
• Annualized rate: 214,155 units, well below the expected 242,500.
• Indicates developer caution amid falling demand and prices.