Canadian home sales rose 30% in October from a year ago

The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in October rose 30 per cent compared with a year ago, marking a shift from the market's holding pattern that the association has previously described.

On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales rose 7.7 per cent from September.

The association says rising home sales activity was broad-based, with the Greater Toronto Area and British Columbia's Lower Mainland recording double-digit increases in October.

CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says the jump in sales was a surprise, even as the Bank of Canada continues to lower its key interest rate. He says the increase was more likely related to the surge in new listings that hit the market in September.

The national average sale price for October amounted to $696,166, up six per cent compared with a year earlier.

The number of newly listed properties was down 3.5 per cent month over month.