Residential Market Commentary - Resale Market Remains Quiet

The quiet start to the year in Canada’s residential real estate market continued in February. Sales dipped by 1.3% compared to January and were off by 8.1% from a year earlier, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. 

The latest CREA stats also show prices continue to moderate. The association’s preferred measure of pricing, the MLS Home Price Index (HPI), fell 0.6% from January and 4.8% compared to February 2025. The national average home price came in with a very slight 0.2% decline. 

CREA expects falling prices to stabilize but Senior Economist Shaun Cathcart calls it a chicken and egg situation. 

“Prices stabilize when the market gets going. The market doesn’t want to get going until prices stabilize,” Cathcart said in an interview with the Financial Post. 

CREA continues to call for the market ‘to get going’, pinning its hopes on anxious, first-time buyers. 

“There’s a huge cohort of pent-up demand that do want to make a move at some point.” “Two huge factors are going to be: One, interest rates being at a bottom … and also home prices being at a bottom,” said Cathcart. 

Market-watchers widely believe interest rates are at their bottom. The Bank of Canada held its benchmark policy rate at 2.25% for a third straight setting last week. The next setting is scheduled for April 29.