As the high interest rate environment continues to cast a shadow over real estate in Canada, national home prices saw yet another monthly decline in September, effectively “shattering” a record set in August.
This is according to the latest Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index, released yesterday, which tracks observed or registered home prices across 11 CMAs: Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa-Gatineau, Montreal, Quebec City, and Halifax. All properties that have been sold at least twice are considered in the calculation of the index.
Teranet and National Bank of Canada
Teranet’s data for September shows that, before seasonal adjustment, the national composite index fell 3.1% from August to September. The month-over-month dip is the largest on record since the index was incepted in 1999. September's index also marks the fifth month of consecutive decline. After seasonal adjustment, the index declined by 2.0%, which was more in line with the index from the month prior (2.4% from July to August).
Of the 11 CMAs examined, eight saw their indexes contract, with the most dramatic decreases observed in Victoria (-5.9%), Vancouver (-3.5%), and Hamilton (-2.1%). Additionally, major price declines were observed in 18 of the 20 CMAs not included in the composite index, with Peterborough (-11.8%), Windsor (-5.4%), Belleville (-5.1%), and London (-5.0%) seeing the greatest drops.
READ: National Home Prices Fall Nearly 7% in September
Meanwhile, Calgary, Halifax, and Edmonton saw positive index activity -- increasing 1.2%, 1.1%, and 0.2% respectively -- and in addition, Trois-Rivières and Brantford were up 5.5% and 2.0%, although they aren’t included in the composite index.
On an annual basis, the national composite index saw a gain of 6.0% in September, however, this was the fifth-straight month where that figure decelerated. Nonetheless, all 11 CMA examined observed year-over-year gains, with Halifax leading the pack (+16.4%), followed by Calgary (+14.7%) and Montreal (+10.8%).
Across the 20 CMAs discluded from the composite index, 19 saw YoY gains, led by Trois-Rivières (+19.6%). Peterborough was the sole exception at -6.6%.
