Property sales fell by 1.6% month on month in Canada in October, latest national index shows

National home sales in Canada fell by 1.6% between September and October 2018 and by 3.7% year on year while prices fell by 1.5% to $496,800 on an annual basis, the latest index shows. Transactions declined in more than half of all local markets, led by Hamilton-Burlington, Montreal and Edmonton. Although activity did improve modestly in many markets, it was offset by a decline in sales elsewhere by a factor of two. The data from the Canadian Real Estate Association also shows that actual, not seasonally adjusted, activity was down 3.7% compared to October 2017 but this is in line with the 10 year average for the month. The index points out that the national average price is heavily skewed by sales in Greater Vancouver and the GTA, two of Canada’s most active and expensive markets. Excluding these two markets from calculations takes the average to $383,000.