As mortgage rates "fell to historically low levels", Canadian millennials saw "a window of opportunity and went for it", expert says.

The data from Royal LePage comes amid an overall uptick in home prices this year, after COVID-19 lockdowns stymied the spring buying season.

Telecommuting -- normalized by lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic -- helps. But the rising cost of buying a home in the suburbs also plays a role.

The result topped what economists had expected.

Analysis of data from the U.S. Federal Reserve indicates that this is a higher share of national wealth than real estate takes up in the United States.

The proportion of Canadians who own their own homes has fallen slightly between 2006 and 2016, according to information collected by Statistics Canada in the most recent census.

In Montreal, sales of condominiums and homes over $1 million jumped 60% year-over-year this July and August.

CMHC defines problematic conditions as imbalances in the housing market where metrics depart significantly from historical averages.

The agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate fell to 192,928 units in October, down from 219,363 units in September.

The Canadian Real Estate Association says July marked the third consecutive month of fewer housing sales.