P.E.I. sees uptick in home sales in February, despite downward national trend

Stephen Brun · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 23, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Prince Edward Island bucked a nationalist inclination past month, signaling an summation successful the fig of homes that changed hands. 

"Smaller places tin person much volatility so, you know, 1 car doesn't marque a parade. We'll person to spot however that plays retired going forward," said Shaun Cathcart, a elder economist with the Canadian Real Estate Association, oregon CREA. 

"Places that are comparatively much affordable person done rather a spot amended during this time." 

Total income enactment successful February climbed by 10 per cent successful P.E.I. implicit January, according to CREA data. 

Year implicit year, February 2025 saw a 7.7 per cent leap successful full residential and non-residential income compared to the aforesaid period successful 2024. 

Canada arsenic a full saw a 9.2 per cent month-over-month driblet successful sales, and a 9.7 per cent alteration from February 2024 to 2025. 

Cathcart pointed to Donald Trump's inauguration connected Jan. 20, and the U.S. president's consequent threats to spot tariffs connected a big of Canadian goods, arsenic the commencement of a play erstwhile radical crossed this state began to propulsion backmost connected home-buying plans. 

While it remains to beryllium seen however a prolonged commercialized warfare volition impact the lodging market, Cathcart said imaginable buyers and sellers look to beryllium shying distant successful the abbreviated term.

"Uncertainty truly does propulsion acold h2o connected those… semipermanent decisions. It doesn't mean that the request from 3 years of grounds colonisation growth… [has] gone anywhere," helium said. 

"All of the stars are aligned for a rebound twelvemonth successful the lodging market, but for the information that the U.S. is threatening to clang our system each of a sudden. So overmuch for 2025 being the archetypal mean twelvemonth of the 2020s." 

Another origin successful P.E.I.'s income summation could beryllium interprovincial migration, successful peculiar from places similar Ontario and British Columbia. Homeowners who person sold successful those regions whitethorn look to bargain successful a little pricey market, the economist  suggested. 

That benignant of boost to location income connected the Island is simply a "double-edged sword," said Cathcart, due to the fact that it benefits existing owners looking to sell, but besides tends to trim the comparative purchasing powerfulness of young people.

"If you're a young idiosyncratic that's looking for that starter location successful an affordable marketplace and you're having to present each of a abrupt vie with radical from Toronto who either conscionable sold a truly costly home… oregon person brought their Toronto wage with them via distant work, that's causing a batch of problems successful a batch of places." 

Lower involvement rates? It's not truthful easy

One imaginable solution is the Bank of Canada lowering involvement rates, said Cathcart. In theory, that would let much radical to bargain successful their location provinces. 

U.S. tariffs mightiness again beryllium an issue, though — commercialized wars thin to summation inflation, which the Bank of Canada whitethorn take to effort controlling done higher involvement rates. 

"If the Bank of Canada could little involvement rates… to enactment the economy, [that] would astir apt support immoderate radical successful B.C. and Ontario due to the fact that it would bring backmost that thought that you could bargain successful those places," Cathcart said.

"But the Bank of Canada mightiness not beryllium capable to little rates due to the fact that of inflation. And that's their mandate, to power that. That could beryllium atrocious for the lodging marketplace each implicit the place, but decidedly worse for places that are much expensive."