Prices decline in 10 out of 11 major metropolitan markets
Canadian single-family home prices experienced a decline for the first time in 8 months in October, according to the latest Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index.
Relative to September prices, last month’s detached property values fell by 0.4%, with prices shrinking in 10 of the 11 major metropolitan markets analysed by the index.
On a month-over-month basis, only Montreal’s home prices increased, showing 0.2% growth. Annually, the index posted a 2.8% uptick.
Among the most frequently blamed factors for Canada’s comparatively elevated price points, especially for single-family homes, is the prevalence of speculation among foreign investors – but another analysis that used fresh Teranet land and housing data stated that this might not be the case.
Read more: CMHC issues forecast for next two years
Numbers from Teranet’s registry suggested that flippers represented only 1.8% of total condo sales as of June 2018, far below the 4% proportion in April 2016.
Meanwhile, Vancouver had a mere 3.4% of condo transactions between April and June being flipped sales, considerably lower than the 5% ratio in March 2016.
“Most people buy real estate to hang onto [condos] for at least five to seven years,” RE/MAX Integra regional director (Ontario) Christopher Alexander told Bloomberg, adding that flipping “has always been a very rare occurrence” in Toronto.
