Existing home sales for May from CREA
- Prior was -1.7%
- Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity in May stood 1.6% below last May's level
- The number of newly listed homes edged up 0.3% from April to May
- Toronto home sales down 25.3% m/m in May
That drop in Toronto is ominous. The buyers have gone on strike.
Earlier today, CREA lowered its forecast for Ontario home sales to -2.1%.
CREA is a real estate lobby so take their comments with a grain of salt but you can read between the lines here.
"This is the first full month of results since changes to Ontario housing policy made in late April. They provide clear evidence that the changes have resulted in more balanced housing markets," said Gregory Klump, CREA's Chief Economist. "For housing markets in the region, May sales activity was down most in the Greater Toronto Area and Oakville. This suggests the changes have squelched speculative home purchases."
The Canadian dollar dipped slightly on the headlines. USD/CAD is trading at 1.3282.
