Home resales down in January but remain strong

OTTAWA — Sales of existing Canadian homes declined by 2.9 percent in January, according to data from the Canadian Real Estate Association, but remained among the stronger monthly readings of the last few years. Transactions were down in a little more than half of all local markets in January, with the national result most impacted by a slowdown of more than 18 percent in the B.C. Lower Mainland. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales activity was still up 11.5 percent compared to January 2019, marking the best sales figures for the month in 12 years. Transactions surpassed year-ago levels in about two-thirds of all local markets, including most of the largest urban markets.