Ann Marie Drohan

The number of home sales recorded over Canadian MLS® Systems increased 5.5% on a month-over-month basis in May 2026.

“The national sales increase from April to May was broad-based but driven disproportionately by Ontario, suggesting the HST rebate on new builds may have only briefly drawn the attention of buyers away from the existing home market,” said Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s Senior Economist. “While it was just the first month in 2026 to see any meaningful upward momentum in headline demand, under the surface conditions have been improving for some time. Sellers’ and buyers’ expectations are increasingly aligned, as evidenced by tightening sale-to-list price ratios and shorter periods between listing and sale dates. As a result, prices have largely stabilized following some softness earlier in the year.”

May Highlights:

• National home sales jumped 5.5% month-over-month.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) monthly activity came in 5.1% below May 2025.
• The number of newly listed properties edged down 1% on a month-over-month basis.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) inched down by 0.1% month-over-month and was down 4.1% on a year-over-year basis.
• The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average sale price was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis in May 2026.

https://www.crea.ca/media-hub/news/canadian-home-sales-activity-little-changed-in-march-2-2/