By Fergal Smith
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadian home sales and house prices declined in March, while the outlook for the full year turned less rosy, as U.S.-led global trade tensions threatened to upend the domestic economy, data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) showed.
Home sales fell 4.8% in March from February, and together with declines in the previous three months were down 20% from their recent high, posted in November, CREA said on Tuesday.
On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, sales were down 9.3% on an annual basis and were the lowest for the month since 2009.
The industry group also said its Home Price Index declined 1% on the month and was down 2.1% annually, while the national average selling price was down 3.7% on the year.
"Up until this point, declining home sales have mostly been about tariff uncertainty," said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s senior economist. "Going forward, the Canadian housing space will also have to contend with the actual economic fallout.
"In short order we’ve gone from a slam dunk rebound year to treading water at best.”
U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on a variety of Canadian goods, including autos, and Canada’s retaliatory measures, are expected to suppress economic growth despite a string of interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada since June.
CREA slashed its 2025 forecast, expecting 482,673 residential properties to change hands, barely changed from 2024. In January it forecast an increase of 8.6%.
Separate data from Canada’s national housing agency showed that housing starts declined 3.3% month-over-month in March to an annualized rate of 214,155 units, falling short of the 242,500 rate expected by economists.