04:11 PM EDT, 05/23/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Shelly Kaushik over at BMO Capital Markets noted Thursday that Canadian new home prices ticked up in April, though they remain slightly (-0.1%) below year-ago levels. In fact, she said, yearly price growth has been negative for the past year -- and that's helped relieve some pressure on the shelter component of CPI, partially offsetting surging rent and mortgage interest costs.

The housing market, Kaushik said, is "poised to snap out of its current lull" when the Bank of Canada makes its first rate cut, expected this summer. Pent-up demand will return, but additional supply is expected to come online as well, keeping a lid on

a broader rally in prices, she added.

Still, Kaushik said, movements in new home prices will be "something to watch in the coming months". They will help evaluate the housing market's response to lower rates, and flow through effects on inflation, as the BoC considers any additional rate cuts, she added.