Canadian real estate sales continue to reflect the economic uncertainty brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In March, home sales across the country dipped 14.3% on a month over month average.

According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), that dip in home sales was followed by a steep 56.8% dive in April. 

Compared to the same time last year, national home sales are down 55.7%, with the number of active listings on the market dropping a similar 55.7%. 

However, it’s that correlation between plummeting sales as well as listings that’s keeping home prices relatively stable. 

The CREA reports that the national Home Price Index has edged back 0.6% month over month and has actually jumped 6.4% year over year. 

“Like so many other parts of normal daily life, a lot of buying and selling activity in housing markets across Canada has been put on pause,” said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s Senior Economist.

“That said, preliminary data for May suggest things may have already started to pick up a bit for both sales and new listings, in line with evidence that new and existing virtual technology tools have been adopted by Realtors and their clients. These tools have allowed quite a bit of essential business to safely continue, and will likely remain key for some time.”