CREA reports home sales in typically busy September continued to slow

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) says the country's housing market continued to slow in September — a stark contrast from the flurried pace of sales the fall usually delivers.

The association said Friday that September sales were down 3.9 per cent compared with August, a slight increase in the current sales slowdown that began with the Bank of Canada’s first interest rate hike in March.

Compared with a year ago, home sales in September were down 32.2 per cent and about 12 per cent below the pre-pandemic 10-year average for the month.

Sherry Cooper, chief economist at Dominion Lending Centres, considered the numbers to be a sign of a housing correction, but noted it's been an "unusual" correction because it's "orderly" and "non-chaotic."