Exceptional activity in Vancouver and Toronto spurs Canadian home prices into their most impressive performance in years
The Canadian housing sector saw its strongest performance last month since March 2008, with property prices growing by 7 per cent on a year-by-year basis, according to a report released last week (April 15).
The Teranet-National Bank house price index added that the March prices represented a 0.8 per cent growth from February.
These findings supported the latest figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association, which showed that March sales increased by 1.5 per cent over the previous month, and 12 per cent over the same time last year.
Analysts pointed at exceptional activity in Vancouver and Toronto as the main driver for the seemingly inexorable growth in the country’s real estate segment, fuelled by a continuously recovering job market.
“[A notable] characteristic of those two cities is tight supply,” National Bank officials Marc Pinsonneault and Krishen Rangasamy said, as quoted by The Globe and Mail. “Note that sales growth has outpaced new listings growth in both cities lately.”
The Teranet-National Bank data found that Vancouver prices increased by 2.8 per cent month-over-month last March. Toronto posted a more modest 0.3 per cent gain, while other winners were Edmonton (0.9 per cent), Montreal (0.9 per cent), and Hamilton (0.6 per cent).
Year-over-year, Vancouver grew by 17.3 per cent, Hamilton by 10.5 per cent, Toronto by 9 per cent, and Victoria by 8.5 per cent.
“For those living in Vancouver, Victoria, Toronto and Hamilton, the housing boom continues,” Pinsonneault and Rangasamy said.
“Elsewhere the long-awaited correction of the housing market has already arrived, as evidenced by the ninth consecutive month of declining prices [on a year-on-year basis] for the seven remaining regions covered by the Teranet-National Bank composite house price index,” they added.
The Teranet-National Bank house price index added that the March prices represented a 0.8 per cent growth from February.
These findings supported the latest figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association, which showed that March sales increased by 1.5 per cent over the previous month, and 12 per cent over the same time last year.
Analysts pointed at exceptional activity in Vancouver and Toronto as the main driver for the seemingly inexorable growth in the country’s real estate segment, fuelled by a continuously recovering job market.
“[A notable] characteristic of those two cities is tight supply,” National Bank officials Marc Pinsonneault and Krishen Rangasamy said, as quoted by The Globe and Mail. “Note that sales growth has outpaced new listings growth in both cities lately.”
The Teranet-National Bank data found that Vancouver prices increased by 2.8 per cent month-over-month last March. Toronto posted a more modest 0.3 per cent gain, while other winners were Edmonton (0.9 per cent), Montreal (0.9 per cent), and Hamilton (0.6 per cent).
Year-over-year, Vancouver grew by 17.3 per cent, Hamilton by 10.5 per cent, Toronto by 9 per cent, and Victoria by 8.5 per cent.
“For those living in Vancouver, Victoria, Toronto and Hamilton, the housing boom continues,” Pinsonneault and Rangasamy said.
“Elsewhere the long-awaited correction of the housing market has already arrived, as evidenced by the ninth consecutive month of declining prices [on a year-on-year basis] for the seven remaining regions covered by the Teranet-National Bank composite house price index,” they added.
