Home sales break March record

National home sales posted their third month-over-month increase on the way to breaking March’s previous record.

Driven by activity in the GTA and Vancouver, home sales increased 1.5% month-over-month in March, and 12.2% year-over-year, according to the Canadian Real Estate Board.

“Greater Vancouver and the GTA are heading into the spring home buying season with soaring demand and a shortage of listings,” CREA President Cliff Iverson said. “Meanwhile, other major urban markets in Canada are well balanced or are amply supplied.”

Sales were up month-over-month in nearly 60 different markets, according to CREA. Sales totaled 50,610 across the country.

“Single family home sales in the Lower Mainland of BC and the GTA set new records for the month of March in the range between a-half and one-million dollars – as did sales above a million dollars,” Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist, said. “Meanwhile, sales below a half-a-million dollars, which were not subject to recently tightened mortgage regulations, are being increasingly restrained in these markets by a short supply of listings.

“If current sales and listings trends persist, price gains may pick up further this spring.”

Newly listed homes, meanwhile, fell by 1.4% month-over-month and the MLS Home Price Index increased 9.1% year-over-year.

The national sales price increased 15.7% year-over-year.