Greater Toronto Area housing activity contracted in January as buyers stepped back amid heightened economic uncertainty, according to data released by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board on Wednesday.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales fell 9.9% from December to 4,795 units, extending a four-month run of declines. The board said January represented the largest single-month drop in transactions since February last year and pushed monthly activity to its weakest point since May.
The board's home price index also moved lower. On a seasonally adjusted basis the index fell 1.7% month-over-month to C$941,200 ($689,574), marking the eighth consecutive monthly decrease in the series.
Looking at year-over-year comparisons, the index was down 8% in January. Sales weakened by 19.3% compared with the same month a year earlier, and new listings declined 13.3% year-over-year.
The Greater Toronto Area, which includes the city of Toronto and four surrounding regional municipalities, thus recorded declines across several headline metrics in January: lower transactions, fewer new listings and continuing downward pressure on the home price index.
The board's release linked part of the backdrop for the softer housing market to broader economic uncertainty. The national economy has felt effects from the U.S.-led trade war, the release noted, and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement - credited with shielding much of Canada's exports from U.S. tariffs - is set for review by a July 1 deadline.
Those external trade-related pressures, coupled with the recent streak of falling sales and prices, framed a subdued start to the year for the region's housing market.
Data snapshot:
- Seasonally adjusted January sales: 4,795 units (-9.9% from December)
- Home price index (seasonally adjusted): C$941,200 (-1.7% month-over-month)
- Year-over-year: price index -8.0%; sales -19.3%; new listings -13.3%