![\"homes](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/4bc2ce77a17d31489532667372654f08.jpeg\")
Home prices are down four per cent from a year ago and 20.5 per cent off the pandemic peak in February 2022. (Credit: DAN JANISSE\/Windsor Star) <\/p>\n Home prices are down four per cent from a year ago and 20.5 per cent off the pandemic peak in February 2022. (Credit: DAN JANISSE\/Windsor Star) <\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A housing market<\/a> rebound in 2026 is unlikely based on the latest numbers released Thursday by the Canadian Real Estate Association<\/a> (CREA), say economists.<\/p>\n \u201cExpectations for a marked recovery in Canadian housing activity have been dialed back again,\u201d Douglas Porter, chief economist at Bank of Montreal, said in a note.<\/p>\n April sales rose 0.7 per cent from the month before, but he said \u201cno one is going to mistake that for a sign of spring for the chilly housing market,\u201d given that sales remain four per cent below year-ago levels and 10 per cent off of the norm for this time of the year.<\/p>\n Prices are also down four per cent from a year ago and 20.5 per cent off the pandemic peak in February 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cAt this point in the year, the chance for a full-blown housing rebound has likely slipped away,\u201d Clay Jarvis, who covers mortgages at NerdWallet Canada, said in a note.<\/p>\n Toronto-Dominion economist Rishi Sondhi was a little more optimistic about the CREA<\/a> numbers since Ontario posted a \u201csolid\u201d sales gain of 4.3 per cent month over month and the average home price across Canada rose 2.6 per cent in April from March.<\/p>\n He said the slight drop in the sales-to-new-listings ratio \u201cis well below the long-term average and signals modest price growth moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n TD is calling for an increase in prices and sales for the second quarter, but Sondhi said that won\u2019t be enough to pull the market out of its overall slump.<\/p>\n \u201cThis will likely only partially retrace significant first-quarter weakness, leaving an overall subdued picture for the first half of the year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Sondhi also said the once-hot housing market faces plenty of economic headwinds, including weak population growth, elevated supply in key markets and a \u201cshaky\u201d jobs picture.<\/p>\n But Porter said the current sales-to-new-listings ratio points to a further contraction in prices and indicates \u201clittle prospect for a quick turn anytime soon.\u201d<\/p>\n He said further price decreases are needed to improve affordability, which remains far below historical norms despite recent price declines and a drop in interest rates.<\/p>\n On a provincial basis, Ontario and British Columbia, the country\u2019s housing heavy hitters for prices and sales, had been the biggest drags on the overall market, but other \u201conce-solid\u201d regions are showing signs of cooling, the CREA report said.<\/p>\n For example, sales dropped by double digits in Edmonton, Winnipeg and Halifax, while previously \u201csizzling\u201d Calgary<\/a> posted a nearly 10 per cent drop in sales and a decline in its home price index.<\/p>\n \u201cGiven the lingering affordability issues in many regions of the country, and the now-distant prospect of any further rate cuts by the Bank of Canada, it\u2019s tough to see the market springing to life anytime soon,\u201d Porter said.<\/p>\n \u00a0Sign up here<\/a> to get Posthaste delivered straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Canada is on track to build an AI<\/a> supercomputer so powerful it could crack the top 10 to 15 globally, says AI and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon<\/a>.<\/p>\n Canada is currently the only G7<\/a> country without a supercomputer that ranks in the top 25, according to an index<\/a> that tracks the most powerful high-performance computers. \u2014 Yvonne Lau, Financial Post<\/p>\n Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Governor General Mary Simon will invest six officers and eight Members into the Order of Canada during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa<\/p>\n Today\u2019s data: Canada housing starts, international securities transactions and manufacturing sales<\/p>\n Earnings: HLS Therapeutics Inc., Conifex Timber Inc.<\/p>\n This FP reader, one of two children, moved out of his parents\u2019 home after getting married, but his brother continues to live there. Now he is worried that once his parents die, he won\u2019t be able to collect his portion of the inheritance from the sale of the family home.\u00a0Keep reading here<\/a> to find out more.<\/p>\n Interested in energy? The subscriber-only FP West: Energy Insider newsletter brings you exclusive reporting and in-depth analysis on one of the country\u2019s most important sectors. Sign up here.<\/a><\/p>\n Are you worried about having enough for retirement? Do you need to adjust your portfolio? Are you starting out or making a change and wondering how to build wealth? Are you trying to make ends meet? Drop us a line at\u00a0wealth@postmedia.com<\/a>\u00a0with your contact info and the gist of your problem and we\u2019ll find some experts to help you out while writing a Family Finance story about it (we\u2019ll keep your name out of it, of course).<\/p>\n McLister on mortgages <\/p>\n Want to learn more about mortgages? Mortgage strategist Robert McLister\u2019s Financial Post column <\/a>can help navigate the complex sector, from the latest trends to financing opportunities you won\u2019t want to miss. Plus check his mortgage rate page<\/a> for Canada\u2019s lowest national mortgage rates, updated daily.<\/p>\n Financial Post on YouTube <\/p>\n Visit the Financial Post\u2019s YouTube channel<\/a> for interviews with Canada\u2019s leading experts in business, economics, housing, the energy sector and more.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s Posthaste was written by Gigi Suhanic<\/a> with additional reporting from Financial Post staff and Bloomberg.<\/p>\n Have a story idea, pitch, embargoed report, or a suggestion for this newsletter? Email us at\u00a0posthaste@postmedia.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don\u2019t miss the business news you need to know \u2014 add\u00a0financialpost.com<\/a>\u00a0to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Home prices are down four per cent from a year ago and 20.5 per cent off the pandemic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":676162,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[52,58360,45,49,48,76142,36795,46,11196,248563],"class_list":["post-676161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-bank-of-canada","tag-bank-of-montreal","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-real-estate-association","tag-douglas-porter","tag-economy","tag-housing-market","tag-rishi-sondhi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=676161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/676162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=676161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=676161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=676161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/a>
<\/a>
<\/a> <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n