Testing Account

The number of home sales recorded over Canadian MLS Systems edged up 0.9% on a month-over-month basis in October 2025, marking six monthly gains in the last seven months. After a brief pause in September, home sales across Canada picked back up again in October, rejoining the trend in place since April, said Shaun Cathcart, CREAs Senior Economist. With interest rates now almost in stimulative territory, housing markets are expected to continue to become more active heading into 2026, although this is likely to be tempered by ongoing economic uncertainty. October Highlights: National home sales climbed 0.9% month-over-month. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) monthly activity came in 4.3% below October 2024. The number of newly listed properties declined 1.4% on a month-over-month basis. The MLS Home Price Index (HPI) edged up 0.2% month-over-month but was down 3% on a year-over-year basis. The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average sale price was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. New supply declined 1.4% month-over-month in October. Combined with an increase in sales activity, the sales-to-new listings ratio tightened to 52.2% compared to 51% recorded in September. The long-term average for the national sales-to-new listings ratio is 54.9%, with readings roughly between 45% and 65% generally consistent with balanced housing market conditions. There were 189,000 properties listed for sale on all Canadian MLS Systems at the end of October 2025, up 7.2% from a year earlier but very close to the long-term average for that time of the year. https://www.crea.ca/media-hub/news/canadian-home-sales-mark-four-year-high-for-the-month-of-september-2/

As the federal government launches a new drive to address Canadas housing crisis with Build Canada Homes, a new report released today by the National Housing Council (NHC) offers a comprehensive framework to assess the effectiveness of federal housing policy. The report entitled Measuring What Matters: Proposing an Outcomes Framework for Federal Housing Policy, tackles a central question: how will Canadians know if housing policies are working? Analysing the current health of Canadas housing system, the report finds that: Affordability is declining: Home ownership is affordable in fewer than 20% of Canadian markets, and asking rents are unaffordable for most renters. Housing transitions are stalling: Canadians face increasing barriers to moving through the housing system, from renting an apartment, to moving into ownership and from a first-owned home to a family-sized unit. Equity gaps persist: Lower-income households, women, Indigenous people, racialized communities, and other equity-denied groups experience worse housing outcomes. Supply challenges are growing: Rising costs of materials, land, labour, and municipal fees, along with approval delays and labour shortages, are driving a cost-of-delivery crisis. Policy misalignment remains: Success is often measured by inputs and outputs - such as dollars spent and units built - rather than improvements in housing outcomes. Grounded in the National Housing Strategy Act and the principles of the right to adequate housing, the report states that outcomes for people are what matter most when assessing if housing policies are working. https://nhc-cnl.ca/news/post/is-canada-s-housing-policy-working-look-at-the-outcomes-for-people-says-new-report-from-the-national-housing-council-