"Shaun Cathcart, the organization's senior economist, told CBC News the slow January was particularly acute in parts of Ontario, a province that saw some rough winter weather that month. "The numbers came in weaker than we thought, but it's all concentrated in central and southwestern Ontario, right along the path of that storm that hit around the third week in January," Cathcart said in an interview."
"Cathcart said the CREA doesn't see a reason to alter its 2026 forecast just because January was a sub-par month. "Unless we get another two-foot snowstorm in the most populated part of Canada, our forecast is for things to improve," Cathcart said. The CREA said Canada had roughly 4.9 months of housing inventory available for sale at the end of January, roughly in line with the long-term average of five months of inventory."
Housing sales in Canada declined 5.8% month-over-month in January. CREA attributes much of the slowdown to severe winter weather concentrated in central and southwestern Ontario that impeded travel and transactions. The association reported about 4.9 months of housing inventory at the end of January, close to the long-term average of five months and indicating a broadly balanced market. CREA does not intend to alter its 2026 forecast based on a single weak month and expects conditions to improve unless another major snowstorm affects densely populated areas. Some buyers may be waiting for lower interest rates, but policy rates have remained unchanged since October.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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