Home sales in Canada increased 5.5 per cent on a month-over-month basis in May 2026, according to the latest data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
“The national sales increase from April to May was broad-based but driven disproportionately by Ontario, suggesting the HST rebate on new builds may have only briefly drawn the attention of buyers away from the existing home market,” said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s senior economist.
New listings fell by 1 per cent. Combined with the jump in sales in May, the national sales-to-new listings ratio tightened to 49.2 per cent compared to 46.2 per cent in April. The long-term average for the national sales-to-new listings ratio is 54.8 per cent, with readings roughly between 45 per cent and 65 per cent generally consistent with balanced housing market conditions.
“Like the weather in many parts of Canada this year, the spring market appears to have been delayed by a month or so, but the May numbers left little doubt that activity is now picking up,” said Garry Bhaura, CREA chair. “The handoff from May into June is typically the busiest time of the year, so we now have a strengthening market happening at the most active time of the year.”
There were just over 200,000 properties listed for sale on a non-seasonally adjusted basis at the end of May, unchanged from a year earlier and 2.8 per cent below the long-term average for that time of the year.
There were 4.8 months of inventory, down from 5.1 months in February, March, and April. CREA says this remains very close to the long-term average for the measure of five months. Based on one standard deviation above and below that long-term average, a seller’s market would be below 3.6 months, and a buyer’s market would be above 6.4 months.
The national average home price was $702,079, up 1.5 per cent from the same month last year. It was the highest monthly national average home price in two years and the first time the measure has tipped above the $700,000 mark in 23 months.
The Home Price Index (HPI) slipped 0.1 per cent in May—the smallest decline since January 2025, aside from April. This trend toward price stabilization aligns with tightening sale-to-list price ratios and declining days on market in recent months. Stable prices have long been viewed as a key milestone in restoring buyer confidence and encouraging more purchasers to re-enter the market.
Regionally, prices remain down year-over-year in British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario, offsetting gains in other provinces.
“While it was just the first month in 2026 to see any meaningful upward momentum in headline demand, under the surface conditions have been improving for some time,” observed Cathcart. “Sellers’ and buyers’ expectations are increasingly aligned, as evidenced by tightening sale-to-list price ratios and shorter periods between listing and sale dates. As a result, prices have largely stabilized following some softness earlier in the year.”
