Canadian Home Prices Continue Decline Amid Global Uncertainty

Canadian home prices have fallen for the 16th consecutive month, driven by rising mortgage rates due to global uncertainty from the Middle East conflict. According to Jin10, data released by the Canadian Real Estate Association on Thursday showed that the benchmark price in March decreased by 0.4% from February, reaching 659,100 CAD. This marks the lowest level since March 2021 and continues the downward trend that began at the end of 2024. Senior economist Shaun Cathcart from the association stated, "The mid-month surge in fixed mortgage rates related to rising inflation has exacerbated the already unstable economic conditions at the start of the year. The timing of the mortgage rate increase, coupled with the perception that it might be temporary, could deter potential buyers during the most active months of April, May, and June, as they wait for rates to decline." The real estate board's data also indicated that home sales in Canada slightly decreased by 0.1% in March compared to the previous month, while the number of newly listed homes dropped by 0.2%.