Canada's resale housing listings more than doubled last month, compared with December, thanks to continued strength in Vancouver and Toronto.
According to Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) statistics published Tuesday, seasonally adjusted national home sales activity was up 4.5% in January, representing the highest level since April of last year.
As well, January marked the first time since 2007 that listings more than doubled at the beginning of the year compared with December.
Gregory Klump, the association’s chief economist, said Ottawa’s recent decision to tighten up mortgage regulations has pulled sales activity forward into the year's first quarter.
The new regulations, which take effect next month, limit maximum amortization periods to 30 years from 35.
The regulations also mean homeowners will only be able to borrow 85% of the value of their home compared with 90% now.
CREA president Georges Pahud said the government should hold off on additional changes until the market fully absorbs the impact of the new regulations.
Said Pahud: "It will take some time before the longer term impact of the latest mortgage regulations on the housing market can be felt. For that reason, further action shouldn’t be taken until the impact can be measured."
CREA also said Tuesday that the year-over-year gains in average price recorded last month are due to a jump in the number of multi-million dollar homes sales in Greater Vancouver.