The Canadian real estate market had a turbulent year in 2022. Prices in many major markets were high at the beginning of the year, and quickly began declining as interest rates increased eight times in ten months. As a result, housing prices have declined across Canada. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), the non-seasonally adjusted benchmark price for all of Canada is $713,700 as of January 2023, a 17.8% decline from the March 2022 peak of $868,300.
With prospective buyers looking for a great deal and sellers unsure of fair market value, Zoocasa analyzed benchmark prices across major Canadian housing markets from coast-to-coast to determine when prices were last at this level.
Prices in 5 of Ontario’s Major Markets are back to February 2021 Levels
Five major markets in Ontario currently have benchmark prices in line with February 2021 levels: Hamilton–Burlington, Kitchener–Waterloo, London–St. Thomas, Mississauga, and Ottawa. Ontario has some of the most expensive markets in Canada, including the city of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area, and many of the cities in the province that experienced skyrocketing price growth during 2022 are seeing similar price declines as the market adjusts.
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The demand for housing in Ontario coupled with consistently low supply and an evergrowing population keeps prices in the province high. Affordability was strained prior to all this price growth, which meant that as prices increased, buyers had to put their goals on hold or take their dollars to more affordable cities (and even provinces).
As prospective buyers in Ontario moved to the sidelines, cities like Saskatoon and St. John’s maintained steadily growing prices and peaked in July 2022 and August 2022 respectively.
Prices Have Declined the Least in the Prairies and on the East Coast
Many of the less expensive markets across Canada had a slower climb to reach their peaks, but have also experienced softer price declines. For example, St John’s January benchmark price is $316,300, which is exactly the same as the benchmark price just seven months ago in June 2022.
In Prince Edward Island, the January benchmark price of $343,600 is closest to April’s price of $338,100. Saskatoon’s current price of $366,000 most closely resembles March 20222’s $368,100. Each of Halifax-Dartmouth, Saint John, Calgary, and Frederiction’s current benchmark prices are closest to their respective prices in February 2022. Meanwhile, in Ontario, Sault Ste Marie is the only city to have a current benchmark price resembling a 2022 price, also back to the February 2022 benchmark.
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