Canada’s real estate prices still exceed pre-pandemic numbers

The latest report by Royal LePage shows that Canadian housing prices were down in the fourth quarter of 2022, but they still exceeded the pre-pandemic levels.

The national aggregate home price fell by 2.8% from a year earlier and stopped at $757,100, marking the first annual decrease since the end of 2008, when Canada was facing a financial crisis.

“It could be sensational to say we have a double digits prices drop, but well less than 1% of homeowners completed their purchases in February or March of the last year, when the pandemic-caused urgency to buy and a significant lack of supply led to a final hike in prices,” – noted Phil Soper, president and chief executive officer of Royal LePage.

The Greater Vancouver Area and Greater Toronto Area reported annual price drops in Q4, with the aggregate real estate price in Vancouver going down by 3.5% to $1,208,900, and in the Greater Toronto Area – by 4.6% to $1,068,500.

Nevertheless, certain markets showed an increase in home prices.

For instance, the aggregate home price in Calgary rose by 3.9% to $599,100, while Greater Montreal Area saw an annual increase by 2.2% to $544,300.

“Although the red-hot market conditions are already over, we’re still dealing with a national lack of supply which can’t be offset by temporarily cooling demand,” – Soper noted.

He says the record immigration rates, high employment rate and strong savings will put even more pressure on the restrained housing supply again, causing another prices increase.

“Soon, these buyers will come back to the real estate market and they will face low inventory and strong competition once again,” – he added.