Lack of Momentum In the Housing Market Persists, says National Bank of Canada

02:56 PM EDT, 03/19/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The lack of momentum in the housing market persists, says National Bank of Canada in its latest 'Housing Market Monitor'.

In summary, National Bank noted:

- Home sales edged down 1.3% from January to February, marking the fourth monthly decline in a row.

- New listings fell by 3.9% from January to February, marking the fifth decline in six months following a 5.1% increase in January.

- Despite the decline in sales, the drop in new listings and the increase in cancellations caused active listings to decrease by 1.3% in February.

- The number of months of inventory (active listings-to-sales ratio) remained unchanged at 5.0 during the month, its highest level since April 2019 (excluding the pandemic).

- Market conditions were "stable" in February and "remained balanced" at the national level, which largely reflects soft conditions in Ontario and B.C., while markets in all other provinces continue to favour sellers.

- Housing starts increased by 10.8K from 240.1K in January to 250.9K in February (seasonally adjusted and annualized), a print slightly below the consensus calling for 255.0K. This improvement was due to an increase in urban areas (+10.5K to 230.5K), while housing starts remained relatively stable in rural areas (+0.2K to 20.4K). The increase in urban areas was driven by growth in the multi-unit segment (+14.0K to 192.3K), while the single-detached segment saw a decline (-3.4K to 38.2K). Decreases in housing starts were seen in Montreal (-4.6K to 13.0K), Toronto (-14.6K to 13.7K), Calgary (-8.6K to 17.1K), and Vancouver (-6.2K to 27.4K).

- The Teranet-National Bank Composite National House Price Index fell by 0.5% from January to February after seasonal adjustment. Eight of the 11 CMAs included in the index recorded declines during the month: Hamilton (-2.1%), Montreal (-1.0%), Winnipeg (-0.9%), Halifax (-0.8%), Toronto (-0.7%), Victoria (-0.6%), Ottawa-Gatineau (-0.6%), and Vancouver (-0.2%). Prices remained stable in Calgary, while they rose in Quebec City (+1.0%) and Edmonton (+1.2%).

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