Canada got the full run of the country's resale housing market data for May earlier Tuesday, said Bank of Montreal (BMO).
Existing home sales were down 5.1% year over year in the month, but improved a "solid" 5.5% in seasonally-adjusted terms from the prior month.
This is still a balanced overall national housing market, with pockets of ongoing weakness at the regional level -- for example, the Greater Toronto Area, Southwestern Ontario and British Columbia -- and further at the segment level, such as smaller condos, noted the bank.
The national benchmark price was still down 3.9% from a year ago, but some markets are starting to look less difficult as Canada exits spring. New listings were down 1% in the month, or 7.9% from a year ago, which is helping keep the market in balance overall, stated BMO.
The Bank of Canada is firmly on hold for now, which offers no mortgage rate relief in the variable space, although some of the upside risk to fixed mortgage rates has quickly evaporated with lower oil prices and Government of Canada yields, it pointed out.
Still, the affordability and investment calculus isn't quite there yet to trigger a meaningful rebound in activity and prices. But, the longer Canada sits on current prices, with stable sub-4% mortgage rates and steadily growing incomes, the closer it will be to the harder-hit markets scraping out a bottom, added the bank. For quality single-detached properties in the right price bracket, Canada might already be seeing it.
International securities transactions data for April will be published at 8:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday.