The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) revised its home sales forecast for 2026 downward, while new data shows the number of homes sold in June ticked up slightly from the month before. High oil prices fuelled inflation and spurred the possibility that the Bank of Canada would raise interest rates, sending bond yields up and causing fixed mortgage rates to jump earlier this year. These factors have eased somewhat since then, but the association says they still weighed on the housing market in recent months — as did a quicker-than-expected drop in Canada’s population. “Taken together, the national sales forecast for 2026 was revised slightly lower, reflecting the weak first half of the year, and slightly delayed start to the long-awaited recovery” in the housing market, the association said. CREA had previously predicted a small increase in the number of homes sold in 2026, but it now expects a 1.4% decline compared to 2025.