Home resales continue to rise in September

OTTAWA ― Sales of existing Canadian homes advanced for the seventh consecutive month in September, raising them 18% above the six-year low reached in February 2019 but leaving them about 8% below highs reached in 2016 and 2017. The Canadian Real Estate Association reports that activity was up in slightly more than half of all local markets, led by Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, which together constitute the Lower Mainland of B.C. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales activity was up 15.5% year-over-year, reflecting the combination of slow sales in September 2018 and a rebound in activity this year. Transactions were up from year-ago levels in all of Canada’s largest urban markets.