Slow February home sales signal things are about to pick up: CREA – National [Video]

February may have been a “relatively uneventful” period in Canada’s housing market, but the national real estate association thinks the slow month could be the calm before a spring storm.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) said Monday that home sales were down 3.1 per cent in February from January, giving back some of the gains seen over the previous two months.

CREA’s home price index was flat in February, snapping a streak of five consecutive months of declines.

The national average home price last month was $685,809, up 3.5 per cent year over year.

The number of newly listed properties rose 1.6 per cent ahead of the typically busy spring market.

The ratio of sales to new listings eased to 55.6 per cent last month, which CREA said floats just above the long-term average indicated relative balance between buyers and sellers in the market.

CREA chair Larry Cerqua said in a statement Monday that how busy the season ends up …