The Teranet-National Bank HPI rose 0.3% in January, reaching an all-time high. The new record coincides with a historically high volume of home sales in most regions of Canada, coupled with limited supply. The seasonally adjusted unsmoothed Composite HPI has surged 7.8% since July. However, the uptrend of home prices does not encompass all categories of dwellings. In Toronto, the rise in sales volume was concentrated in single-family dwellings outside the downtown area, and did not take in condos. In the Greater Montreal market, a very large rise in condo listings on Montreal Island contrasts sharply with the peripheral areas of that market. In the Greater Vancouver and Victoria markets, as in Toronto and Montreal, price increases for single-family homes have significantly outpaced those for condos. Apart from a shift in preference induced by the pandemic, there is reason to believe the condo segment is affected by low immigration inflows and a persistently high unemployment rate among young workers.

February 2021