December 7, 2011

Canadian House Price Index is Eye Opening!

by Simon Giannini

Teranet and National Bank publish a monthly House Price Index that tracks changes in house values across Canada. In my opinion, it’s a better measure of TRUE real estate values, as it measures ACTUAL homes and condos that sold at least twice in a given period, as opposed to looking at AVERAGE prices that can be affected by changes in the housing stock or by a small number of luxury property sales.

Instead of reporting on prices for a particular city, National Bank and Teranet have converted house prices into a standard index. To do this they first assign a base period, in this case June 2005, for which the index for all regions is set to 100. The index then captures just the appreciation or depreciation in house values for a particular market. Let’s have a look at some of the findings.

Winnipeg is number 1: House values in Winnipeg have increased 78% since June 2005 (the base year of the house price index), roughly 12% per year.

Vancouver: Vancouver house values were outperforming Winnipeg until 2008 when house values retreated by 12%. Since then house values have been increasing steadily and are averaging 11% per year.

Quebec City: A lot like Winnipeg, house values in Quebec City have been appreciating at a very consistent rate over the past 6 years. It’s interesting to note that house prices in Quebec City were not impacted at all by the economic crisis in 2008. House values have increased by 65% since June 2005 or roughly 10% per year.

Edmonton: Edmonton house values nearly doubled from June 2005 to September 2007. Prices declined for two years and have slowly started to recover. Since then, values have appreciated by 64% since 2005, or roughly 10% per year.

Montreal: House values in Montreal have appreciated at a steady rate every year, by 44% since June 2005 or roughly 7% per year.

Ottawa: values in Ottawa have appreciated by 38% since June 2005 or roughly 6% per year.

Toronto: Most people would be surprised to see that Toronto is among the worst performers in terms of appreciation in house values over the past six years. House values in Toronto have appreciated by 38% since June 2005 or roughly 6% per year.

Hamilton: The title for worst performing real estate market goes to Hamilton. House values have appreciated by 31% since June 2005 or roughly 5% per year. Hamilton also saw downturns in 2008 and 2010 but prices have recovered since then.

—

About the Author

Simon Giannini is a Broker with Royal LePage Signature in Toronto, Ontario. Simon is also the Author of “Everything You Wanted To Know About Real Estate But Were Afraid To Ask”, “Buy Low, Sell High”, and “Get Rid Of Your Customers”. Simon has over 25 years experience, and is a sought after speaker and trainer for the real estate and mortgage industry. You can check out his BLOG at : www.TheRealEstateCentre.com