News and Press Releases

In March, the downward trend in home prices continued with the Composite Teranet-National Bank HPI slipping for a sixth month in a row, a first in six years. Moreover, in 20 years of history, this is the first time that the Composite HPI drops in a month of March outside a recession. A few months ago, the home price weakness was mainly noticeable in the westernmost metropolitan areas. Judging from the six-month change in the index, it now extends to nine of the 11 regions comprising the Composite index, the exceptions being Montreal and Halifax. If we also consider 14 other metropolitan regions for which a Teranet-National Bank HPI is computed (although not included in the Composite), we have a price increase in only six of the 25 metropolitan regions considered. This is one of the lowest diffusion of 6-month price gains in March over the history of the index. Home prices are adjusting to the recent rise in interest rates and stricter mortgage qualification rules. But price weakness does not mean collapse. In Toronto, Canada’s largest real estate market, apartment prices have been up for 17 consecutive months, while prices of other types of dwellings declined only 1.4% over the last 6 months. In Vancouver, the most expensive market, employment growing 2.9% in Q1 on a y/y basis should limit further home price declines.

April 2019

In February, the downward trend in home prices continued with the Composite Teranet-National Bank HPI slipping for a fifth month in a row (left chart). Moreover, the weakness extended to most regions. In the 11 metropolitan areas comprised in the Composite Index, only one (Montreal) experienced an increase of the index over the last six months. Among the 14 other metropolitan areas for which we have a HPI, only London and Windsor did so. This was the lowest diffusion of six-month gains in ten years for a month of February (right chart). Home prices are adjusting to the recent rise in interest rates and stricter mortgage qualification rules. But price weakness does not mean collapse. In Toronto, Canada’s most important real estate market, apartment prices have been up for 16 consecutive months, while prices of other types of dwellings declined only 1.2% over the last 6 months. In Vancouver, where employment was up 3.1% on a y/y basis in February, seasonally adjusted home sales stabilized in the beginning of the year, limiting the potential of further home price declines.

March 2019

Home prices weakened in the second half of 2018 in most of the metropolitan areas
constituents of the Teranet-National Bank Composite HPI. The Calgary index did not rise
for a sixth month in a row in December. It was a fifth month in a row for Vancouver, and
a fourth one for Edmonton. Weakness became apparent in Q4 for six other metropolitan
areas, when only Montreal and Ottawa-Gatineau experienced home price growth (left
chart). This is the worst 3-month diffusion for December in five years. This conclusion
still holds If we also include in the sample 14 other Canadian metropolitan areas for
which a Teranet-National Bank HPI is available (although not integrated in the national
composite index) – right chart. Higher mortgage rates and tougher qualification rules are
causing the cooling in most major home resale markets in Canada. The recent increase
in vacant new dwellings may also add to downward price pressure in some markets. At
this juncture, we continue to expect a soft landing of the Canadian home resale market.

.January 2019

The Composite 6, which was first launched in December 2008 was initially built to capture the aggregate performance of the Canadian housing market with the richest available data at that time. In 2011, we expanded the Composite 6 by five new cities and reviewed and refined the geographic territory of each city to better align with the Census Metropolitan Area definitions provided by Statistics Canada. The Composite 11 was built with this information in hand and more precisely reflects the rate of change of single-family home prices in Canada.

As a result, the last public report that will contain the Composite 6 index (C6) data will be March 13^th, 2019.  After this date, only Composite 11 will be made available in the public sphere. If you still require the Composite 6 data, it will be available as a commercial offering. You can contact us to discuss options to continue receiving the data. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at info@housepriceindex.ca

Home price weakness in some major metropolitan areas is evidenced by a second
consecutive decline in the national Composite Index. In the most expensive markets,
new mortgage qualification rules and the rise in interest rates have cooled demand
significantly. For instance, in Vancouver, November was a fourth month in a row without
a rise in home prices, for a cumulative drop of 1.8%. In Toronto, prices declined over the
last three months, for a total loss of 0.4%. Markets are also weak in Alberta, where prices
did not rise for a fifth month in a row in Calgary, and for a third consecutive month in
Edmonton (left chart), for cumulative declines of 1.4% and 1.3% respectively. There are,
however, some areas of strength in the country. In Montreal, for example, home sales
are at a record level so far in 2018 (right chart). With interest rates set to rise more
slowly than previously thought, hopes for a soft landing of the Canadian home resale
market are still warranted.

To read the full report, please click on the link below:

December 2018

Home prices are showing signs of weakness at the national level (left chart), but the
market is far from being homogeneous. For example, Vancouver showed no gain for a
third month in a row, for a cumulative loss of 1.2%. Moreover, the weakness extends to
condos as well as to more expensive dwellings. This is consistent with the fact that since
the beginning of the year, home sales declined markedly in both segments. For Toronto,
the picture is mixed, with condos prices still remaining on an upward trend. Montreal is
at the other end of the spectrum. The second largest metropolitan region in Canada
enjoyed the most vigourous home resale market over the last few months (right chart).
But with interest rates set to rise again in the coming months, we don’t see much upside
for home prices.

To read the full report, please click on the link below:

November 2018

When seasonal effects are removed, the Composite price index edged up in September, recovering some of the ground lost in previous months. While this applies in particular to Toronto, it is not the case for Vancouver and Calgary, where the seasonally adjusted indices extended a string of declines (left chart). This downtrend in home prices is consistent with the weakness in home sales reported by the respective real estate boards of these two metropolitan areas. At the opposite, seasonally adjusted indices extended a string of solid increases over the last few months in Montreal and Ottawa-Gatineau (right chart). Again, this is consistent with the performance of the home resale market. In Montreal, home sales in September were up 8% from a year ago and at their highest level for a month of September in 9 years. In Ottawa-Gatineau, the market is almost in the “favorable to sellers” territory judging from the new-listings-to-sales ratio.

The attached report along with selected research from the Economics and Strategy Group can also be accessed by clicking the link below:

October 2018

OPINION: The published Composite index rose in August for a fifth month in a row, but these rises
only reflect usual seasonal patterns over this time of the year. Indeed, after seasonal
adjustment, the Composite index was actually flat in August after drops in June and July.
So, at the national level, the national market is certainly not displaying underlying
strength. This is mostly a reflection of Toronto and Vancouver, the two most important
real estate markets in Canada. The published index for Toronto showed a fifth monthly
increase in a row, but its seasonally adjusted counterpart displayed the opposite with
five consecutive declines. In Vancouver, the seasonally adjusted index was down for a
third month in a row (left chart). In August, seasonally adjusted indices declined or were
flat in six of the nine other metropolitan regions covered. That being said, there are
areas displaying underlying strength, such as Montreal and Ottawa-Gatineau, whose
indices recorded a string of unusually large increases over the past few months

To read the full report, please click on the link below:

September 2018

OPINION: The Composite index rose in July for a fourth month in a row, but these rises were all
below the historical average for these months. Indeed, after seasonal adjustment, the
Composite index was flat in July after a drop in June. The same phenomenon applied to
the Toronto index, where at the opposite of the published index, the adjusted index
declined over the last four months (left chart). The adjusted index declined over the last
two months in Vancouver. This means that the recent rises in these indices reflected
only seasonal pressures, not an underlying trend. For Toronto, the recent declines in the
seasonally adjusted index were due to the sub-index for dwellings other than condos,
down a cumulative 2.1%. Meanwhile, the condo index was up 1.6% (right chart). These
numbers are consistent with market conditions, tighter for condos than for other
housing.

To read the full report, please click on the link below:

August 2018 (more…)