Atlantic Canada’s Housing Market Balances Growth and Supply Pressures: Q1 2024 – Q1 2025 Market Overview

by Joanna Gerber

Between the first quarter of 2024 and the same period in 2025, Atlantic Canada’s housing market faced fluctuating sales and evolving supply conditions. A significant upswing in late 2024 gave way to more tempered activity in early 2025, while growth in construction may play a role in future market activity.

Sales

Bar chart showing quarterly change in home sales from Q1 2024 to Q1 2025, with declines in Q1, Q2 2024 and Q1 2025, and increases in Q3, Q4 2024.

Source: Edge Realty Analytics

Sales in Atlantic Canada varied notably across the five quarters, with quarter-to-quarter shifts underscoring market volatility. Q1 2024 began with a -2.6% dip in home sales from the previous quarter, despite a +6.6% year-over-year gain. Sales remained relatively flat in Q2 (-0.4% q/q) before recovering in Q3 (+3.7%) and surging +15.1% in Q4, for the strongest gain of the period before another -6.1% dip in Q1 2025.

Listings and Inventory

Bar chart showing quarterly percent change in new listings from Q1 2024 to Q1 2025; Q1 2024 is negative, following quarters are positive.

Source: Edge Realty Analytics

New listings followed an upward trajectory overall, climbing from Q2 2024 onward. Active listings showed more mixed movement: despite moderate year-over-year growth through Q3, inventory tightened sharply in Q4 2024 (-7.7% q/q), reflecting strong seasonal demand. However, Q1 2025 brought a pause to this contraction, with active listings increasing slightly (+0.1%).

Q4 2024 represented the tightest conditions, with a sales-to-new listings ratio of 70.9% and months of inventory falling to 4.0. By Q1 2025, the ratio eased to 64.2% and months of inventory rose to 4.7.

Construction

Bar chart showing percentage change in dwellings under construction by quarter; positive growth in Q1, Q2, Q3 2024, and Q1 2025, with a decline in Q4 2024.

Source: Edge Realty Analytics

One of the most consistent trends across the year was sustained growth in construction. Each of the first three quarters of 2024 saw significant quarter-over-quarter increases in dwellings under construction (+5.4% in Q1, +7.6% in Q2, +1.8% in Q3), as builders responded to continued population growth and affordability-driven demand. Although construction slowed slightly in Q4, activity rebounded again in Q1 2025, pushing year-over-year construction growth to +14.4% in early 2025.