Ontario real estate prices marked a year of stability in January, figures released Tuesday by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) show.
On a year-over-year basis, the average single-family home in the province sold for $960,300 in January, up 1.3 per cent from the average of $947,700 they sold for in January of 2024.
The numbers are seasonally adjusted and do not take inflation into account.
Inflation, depending on what measure you choose, is running at between 1.9 and 2.7 per cent.
In a release, CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart pointed to nervousness about U.S. tariffs as a dampening factor in sales.
“The standout trends to begin the year were a big jump in new supply at an uncommon time of year, as well as a weakening in sales which only showed up around the last week of January,” he wrote.
U.S. president Donald Trump's threats of tariffs, which escalated to threats of annexation, began around the time of his inauguration in the first week of January.
“The timing of that change in demand leaves little doubt as to the cause – uncertainty around tariffs. Together with higher supply, this means markets that had been steadily tightening up since last fall are now suddenly in a softer pricing situation again, particularly in British Columbia and Ontario.”
On a province-wide basis, prices for condos in a year-over-year comparison fell 2.5 per cent, and townhouses were steady at a 0.9 per cent increase.
“While we continue to anticipate a more active spring for the housing sector, the threat of a trade war with our largest trading partner is a major dark cloud on the horizon,” wrote CREA chair James Mabey,.
“While uncertainty about the economy and jobs will no doubt keep some prospective buyers on the sidelines, a softer pricing environment alongside lower interest rates will be an opportunity for others."
Within Ontario, sales in the north continued to show stronger growth than those elsewhere in the province — single-family homes in Sault Ste. Marie were up 12.1 per cent year-over-year, and those in North Bay were up 10.1 per cent.
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