The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales in July were down compared with a year ago, but edged slightly higher month-over-month. The organization said Tuesday home sales last month totalled 43,578, down 5.3 per cent from the previous year. On a seasonally adjusted basis, activity was up 0.5 per cent compared with June this year. “At the national level, July’s housing data was a carbon copy of the June numbers, with home sales edging up a little further, listings down, and prices remaining stable,” CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart said in a news release. “The more interesting story over the last few months has been below the surface of the headline national numbers, where markets across the country are generally moving back towards balance.” CREA said that Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador are still borderline sellers’ markets, but that other provinces have seen inventory converging toward long-term averages in recent months. “Notably, even Ontario’s months of inventory measure was only about a half standard deviation above average in July after having been in a buyers’ market condition for the first four months of 2026,” the report said. The national average sale price of a home sold in July was $674,819, up 0.2 per cent on a year-over-year basis. CREA’s home price index, which aims to represent the sale of typical homes, edged 0.1 per cent higher month-over-month. The index was down 3.3 per cent on a year-over-year basis. Regionally, prices fell on a year-over-year basis in Ontario and B.C., while all other regions saw gains. CREA says new listings in July were down 1.6 per cent month-over-month, marking the third consecutive drop. There were 205,388 properties listed for sale across Canada at the end of July, up 0.6 per cent from the previous year and just 1.5 per cent higher than the long-term average. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2026. Daniel Johnson, The Canadian Press
