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Affordability a Key Concern For Canada's Housing Market As Latest Existing Home Sales Data Awaited, notes BMO

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The spring buying season provided little boost to Canada's "lacklustre" housing market in April, says Bank of Montreal, while noting that existing home sales data for April will be released on Thursday at 5 a.m. ET.

Nationally, BMO expects sales to tick up from March, but to remain about 2% below year-ago levels. Average prices are expected to be little changed from year-ago levels, while the quality-adjusted MLS HPI could be down 4% year over year.

Beyond the seasonal support, the market remains balanced, although regional differences persist, said the bank. Softness in Southern Ontario is a key outlier, while smaller-to-medium-sized cities in Quebec and Atlantic Canada remain tight, although less so over the past year, it added

Affordability is a key concern stopping the market from gaining meaningful traction, especially given elevated economic uncertainty, according to BMO.

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