Home resales rise in February

OTTAWA ― Sales of existing Canadian homes rose by 5.9 percent in February 2020, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association, marking one of the larger month-over-month gains of the past decade. With transactions up in about 60 percent of all local markets in February, the increase was largely the result of a 15 percent jump in activity in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales activity stood 26.9 percent above February 2019. That month marked a decade low for February, so much of the gain reflects low levels of activity recorded at the time. February 2020 also benefited from an additional day due to the leap year.