The number of home sales recorded over Canadian MLS Systems climbed 3.8% on a month-over-month basis in July. Building on gains recorded over the previous three months, transactions are now up a cumulative 11.2% since March, according to a report released Friday by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).
The July increase in home sales was again led overwhelmingly by the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), where transactions, while still historically low, have now rebounded a cumulative 35.5% since March, said CREA.
“With sales posting a fourth consecutive increase in July, and almost 4% at that, the long-anticipated post-inflation crisis pickup in housing seems to have finally arrived,” said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s Senior Economist. “Looking ahead a little bit, it will be interesting to see how buyers react to the burst of new supply that typically shows up in the first half of September.”
July Highlights:
- National home sales were up 3.8% month-over-month.
- Actual (not seasonally adjusted) monthly activity came in 6.6% above July 2024.
- The number of newly listed properties was unchanged (+0.1%) on a month-over-month basis.
- The MLS Home Price Index (HPI) was unchanged month-over-month and was down 3.4% on a year-over-year basis.
- The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average sale price edged up 0.6% on a year-over-year basis.
New supply was little changed (+0.1%) month-over-month in July. Combined with the notable increase in sales, the national sales-to-new listings ratio rose to 52%, up from 50.1% in June and 47.4% in May. The long-term average for the national sales-to-new listings ratio is 54.9%, with readings roughly between 45% and 65% generally consistent with balanced housing market conditions, said the CREA report.
There were 202,500 properties listed for sale on all Canadian MLS Systems at the end of July 2025, up 10.1% from a year earlier and in line with the long-term average for that time of the year, it added.
Photo:
Mikhail Nilov
“Activity continues to pick up through the transition from the spring to the summer market, which is the opposite of a normal year, but this has not been a normal year,” said Valérie Paquin, CREA Chair. “Typically, we see a burst of new listings right at the beginning of September to kick off the fall market, but it seems like buyers are increasingly returning to the market.”
CREA said there were 4.4 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of July 2025, dropping further below the long-term average of five months of inventory as sales continue to pick up. 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 Composite MLS Home Price Index (HPI) was unchanged between June and July 2025. Following declines in the first quarter of the year, the national benchmark price has remained mostly stable since May. The non-seasonally adjusted National Composite MLS HPI was down 3.4% compared to July 2024. This was a smaller decrease than the one recorded in June. Based on the extent to which prices fell off in the second half of 2024, look for year-over-year declines to continue to shrink in the months ahead. The non-seasonally adjusted national average home price was $672,784 in July 2025, edging up 0.6% from July 2024,” said the report.
Mario Toneguzzi
Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Entrepreneur. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He was named in 2021 and 2024 as one of the top business journalists in the world by PR News. He was also named by RETHINK to its global list of Top Retail Experts 2024 and 2025.
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