Since the beginning of the pandemic two years ago, household preferences for housing have changed dramatically, pushing demand up and the supply of properties for sale to a historic low. As a result, the Teranet-National Bank HPI jumped by 31.2% between March 2020 and March 2022 and by 18.4% in one year, a record! Vertiginous price increases have been recorded in many cities included in the index over the past two years, including a 65.0% increase in Halifax, 55.4% in Hamilton and 39.8% in Ottawa-Gatineau (left chart). Judging by the current market conditions, characterized by limited supply, and continued strong demand, prices should continue to rise during the strong spring period – especially since many buyers can still get the mortgage rates that they were guaranteed before the recent increases. However, the upward trend in prices is expected to fade in the second half of the year. Indeed, in the face of the worst affordability conditions on record and the sharp rise in mortgage interest rates in recent weeks, we expect demand to be less robust and price increases to be much more modest.

April 2022