Canadian home prices fall again, now down 10% from peak
Canadian home prices continued their slide for an eighth month as buyers and sellers adjusted to an environment of higher interest rates.
The benchmark price for a home fell 1.2% to C$756,200 ($569,910) in October, the smallest monthly decline since June, according to data released Tuesday by the Canadian Real Estate Association.
That brings the total decline to 10% since the February peak, on a seasonally-adjusted basis. Prices are flat compared with last year.
"October provided another month's worth of data suggesting the slowdown in Canadian housing markets is winding up," Shaun Cathcart, CREA's senior economist, said in a release.
Canada's housing market weakness has been driven by higher interest rates. The jump in borrowing costs, after years of soaring home prices, has forced many buyers out of the market and caused home values to adjust.
But economists and investors are beginning to bet that the Bank of Canada is nearing the end of its rate-hiking campaign. Last month the central bank increased its overnight rate by 50 basis points instead of the 75 basis points many were expecting.
The number of newly listed properties edged up 2.2% in October compared with the month before, while sales were up 1.3%.