Canadian home sales fell 7.4% in May but likely to hit record for 2021: CREA

The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales across the country in May fell 7.4 per cent compared with April, but it now expects the number of sales for the full year to set a new record.

The association says month-over-month sales declines occurred in close to 80 per cent of all markets.

The number of transactions in May were more than double compared with a year ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic was spreading rapidly through the country.

The association says the number of new listings for May fell 6.4 per cent from April and listings were down in about 70 per cent of markets.

The national average price of a home sold in May was a little over $688,000, up 38.4 per cent from the same month last year.

The association says trends seen in the last few months and low interest rates have pushed it to forecast a record-setting 682,900 properties will be sold this year and predict the average price will rise by 19.3 per cent on an annual basis to hit $677,775.