Canadian Home Sales Pull Back in September

OTTAWA, Ontario, Oct. 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The number of home sales recorded over Canadian MLS® Systems fell by 2.3% month-over-month in September 2026.

“After a four-month run of modestly positive progress on demand, supply, and prices, many of Canada’s housing markets took a step back in September. This was hardly surprising given the latest jump in fixed mortgage rates, and with the Bank of Canada now widely expected to follow with a rate hike before the end of the year,” said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s Senior Economist. “With housing affordability already stretched, the big question going forward is how much farther will the Bank have to go to keep a lid on inflation next year? Until that becomes clearer, this fresh round of uncertainty will likely send some buyers back to the sidelines.”

September Highlights:

• National home sales declined by 2.3% month-over-month.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) monthly activity came in 7.7% below September 2025.
• The number of newly listed properties fell by 1.8% on a month-over-month basis.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) edged down by 0.4% on a month-over-month basis and was down 3.4% year-over-year.
• The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average sale price was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis in September 2026.

New listings resumed their downward trend in September following a rebound in August, falling 1.8% on a month-over-month basis in September 2026. Overall, new supply has generally been declining since early 2025.

“In a repeat of what we saw earlier this year when the start of the spring market coincided with a jump in mortgage rates, the start of the fall market has likewise been met with an even larger jump in fixed rates,” said Garry Bhaura, CREA Chair. “While that makes the task harder for prospective home buyers as it relates to a mortgage, it will also likely mean more homes to choose from and more negotiating power. For sellers, a well thought out pricing strategy will become even more important. If you’re thinking about buying or selling a property in this evolving market, make a game plan with a REALTOR® in your area today.”

With the decline in sales only just outpacing the drop in new supply in September, the national sales-to-new listings ratio eased slightly to 48.8% compared to 49.1% in August. The long-term average for the national sales-to-new listings ratio is 54.7%, with readings roughly between 45% and 65% generally consistent with balanced housing market conditions.

Slightly more than 200,000 properties were listed for sale on all Canadian MLS® Systems at the end of September 2026, up 1.8% from the same time last year and a little above the long-term average. The big picture is that overall supply has held steady at historical average levels since spring 2025.

There were 4.9 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of September 2026, up slightly from this summer but right in line with the long-term average for the measure. Based on one standard deviation above and below that long-term average, a seller’s market would be below 3.6 months, and a buyer’s market would be above 6.4 months.

The National Composite MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) edged down 0.4% from August to September. The monthly decline following four months of stable prices reflected a fresh step down for prices in Ontario where demand softened in September, alongside the ongoing moderation of offsetting price gains on the Prairies, in Quebec, and on the East Coast.

The non-seasonally adjusted National Composite MLS® HPI was down 3.4% compared to September 2025, marking the first time that the year-over-year decline had grown larger since January.

The non-seasonally adjusted national average home price was $666,538 in September 2026, down 1.6% from the same month last year.

The next CREA statistics package will be published on Tuesday, November 17, 2026.

PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national sales information from MLS® Systems from the previous month.

CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas. Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types.

MLS® Systems are co-operative marketing systems used only by Canada’s real estate boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry associations, representing more than 155,000 REALTORS® through 60 real estate boards and associations.

Further information can be found at http://CREA.ca/statistics.

For more information, please contact:
Pierre Leduc, Media Relations
The Canadian Real Estate Association
Tel.: 613-237-7111 or 613-884-1460
E-mail: pleduc@CREA.ca