Ottawa, ON, October 14, 2016 – According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales edged slightly higher in September 2016 compared to August.

Highlights:

• National home sales edged up 0.8% from August to September.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity in September rose 4.2% year-over-year (y-o-y).
• The number of newly listed homes ticked up 0.5% from August to September.
• The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) in September was up 14.4% y-o-y.
• The national average sale price climbed 9.5% y-o-y.

The number of homes trading hands via Canadian MLS® Systems rose 0.8 percent month-over-month in September 2016. Having eased in each of the previous four months, national home sales are 5.6 percent below the record set in April 2016.

The number of markets was evenly split between those where activity rose on a month-over-month basis and those where it declined. Continuing recent trends, sales climbed further in and around...

• Pre-approvals may now be grandfathered in (on exception) with the previous rules as long as they are pre-approved by October 17th (please note that many banks have already cut off pre-approvals under the old rules)
• They will now allows deals under the old rules as long as there is a signed purchase contract before October 17th, regardless of when it is submitted to the lender or when it closes
• They have taken away the mandatory closing before March rule (which is great for new builds and pre-sales)
• Applications that were approved prior to October 17th can now be revised if need be as long as the applicants and property do not change