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Hopes for a real estate rebound are facing a “fresh” setback with house prices flat again in August and the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) warning that higher borrowing costs could weigh on the market.

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According to CREA’s latest report, the national benchmark home price was $657,400 in August, unchanged from July and three months earlier. Prices were down three per cent year over year and 0.6 per cent from six months ago.

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Home sales slipped 0.7 per cent from July on a seasonally adjusted basis and were 6.9 per cent below 2025. New listings, meanwhile, rose 3.3 per cent month over month, reversing three consecutive monthly declines over the summer.

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CREA said the increase in supply, alongside the small decline in sales, pushed the national sales-to-new-listings ratio down to 49.1 per cent from 51.1 per cent in July. There were 4.8 months of inventory nationally, unchanged for a fourth consecutive month and just below the long-term average of five months.

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The association found sales activity has been largely unchanged since May, while prices have moved little since spring –– the longest stretch of price stability since 2024.

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Shaun Cathcart, CREA’s Senior Economist, said the economic environment has become more challenging, pointing to higher bond yields that have already pushed fixed mortgage rates up and renewed expectations of a possible Bank of Canada rate hike.

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“This fresh round of incoming headwinds is expected to dampen the prospects for further housing market momentum heading into 2027,” Cathcart said.

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