18 September 2018

On average, sales grow each month slightly, just like the prices.

CREA says the average cost of a Canadian home reached $475,500 in August, marking a 1% annual increase. However, CREA noted the average numbers are not the best way to measure the markets, as they are pushed up by high prices in Toronto and Vancouver. That’s why it uses the House Price Index, excluding all the volatility.

Last month, the HPI was up by 2.5% on a year-over-year basis, which is slightly higher than during July.

Most regions of Ontario reported growth: Hamilton-Burlington showed a 7.2% increase, Niagara Region rose by 6.6%, Guelph – by 5.5%, and the GTA was up by 1.4%. In fact, it was the first GTA annual gain in 6 months. Meanwhile, Barrie saw an annual decline by 2.7%.

In case of Ottawa, home prices rose by 7.1% from a year ago, and Montreal showed a 5.9% hike.

“It’s obvious, that real estate markets are rebounding from the weak year start, caused by the new stress test”, – Toronto-Dominion bank economist Rishi Sondhi noted. “The main question is further recovery. In our opinion, sales and prices will keep growing, but higher borrowing costs will still restrain the pace”.