Source: Teranet House Price Index
Canadian home prices in December were up 5.2% from a year earlier, double the 12-month advance recorded in November, according to the Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index™. December was the third consecutive month in which prices were up from a year earlier, after 10 consecutive months of 12-month deflation. The turnaround is due to eight straight monthly increases in the countrywide index. December’s robust 1.2% monthly gain pushed the composite index above the pre-recession peak, that is, to a new record.
The December monthly rise exceeded 1% in four of the six metropolitan markets surveyed: Calgary (1.6%), Vancouver (1.3%), Toronto (1.2%) and Montreal (1.1%). For Montreal it was the first vigorous increase in four months, corroborated by data from the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board showing a tightening of the resale market in December. The Vancouver gain, though slightly greater than Montreal’s, was the smallest recorded in the seven months since prices in this market began rising again. For Toronto it was the second smallest.
Halifax-area prices declined 1.9%, their first retreat in six months. The monthly rise in the Ottawa market was 0.4%, about the same as in the previous two months.
The 12-month appreciation was 7.1% in Toronto, 6.2% in Ottawa, 5.1% in Vancouver, 5.0% in Montreal, 2.9% in Halifax and 0.1% in Calgary. It was the first time in 18 months that Calgary prices were higher than a year earlier. Vancouver having passed that point in November, 12-month deflation is now a thing of the past in all of the markets surveyed. However, Calgary prices are still down 9.3% from their pre-recession peak of August 2007 and Vancouver prices are down 1.1% from their peak of June 2008.
NOTE: The Teranet–National Bank House Price Index™ is estimated by tracking observed or registered home prices over time using data collected from public land registries. All dwellings that have been sold at least twice are considered in the calculation of the index. This is known as the repeat sales method; a complete description of the method is given at www.housepriceindex.ca
