TORONTO -- Low mortgage rates helped boost the number of Canadian home sales in March by 4.1 per cent compared with February, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.
The organization says sales through its Multiple Listing Service last month were up in nearly two-thirds of the markets it tracks, led by gains in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton.
However, Calgary and Edmonton came in below the 10-year average for the month.
"Low mortgage interest rates are good news for affordability as we head into the spring home buying season," CREA president Pauline Aunger said in a statement.
"This spring should see buyers coming off the sidelines in places where winter was anything but mild."
The country's big banks and other lenders have been cutting mortgages rates heading into the busy spring real estate season.
Advertised fixed rates for a five-year term have dropped well below the three per cent mark, with some smaller lenders offering rates under 2.5 per cent.
Compared with a year ago, home sales were up 9.5 per cent, while the average price was up 9.4 per cent at $439,144. Excluding Vancouver and Toronto, the average price was $332,711, up 2.4 per cent from a year ago.
Meanwhile, the MLS Home Price Index was up 4.95 per cent from a year ago.
CREA noted that the number of newly listed homes rose 1.8 per cent in March compared with February, while the national sales-to-new listings ratio was 53.9 per cent in March, up from 52.7 per cent in February.
The association says a sales-to-new listings ratio between 40 and 60 per cent is generally consistent with balanced housing market conditions.
