The Aggregate Composite MLS House Price Index (HPI) rose 18.6% year-over-year last month. Price gains accelerated for all benchmark housing categories tracked by the index.
This price index, unlike those provided by local real estate boards and other data sources, provides the best gauge of price trends because it corrects for changes in the mix of sales activity (between types and sizes of housing) from one month to the next.
Prices for two-storey single family homes posted the strongest year-over-year gains (+21%), followed closely by townhouse/row units (+17.9%), one-storey single family homes (16.6%) and apartment units (16.3%). In many of these regions, the supply of new single-family homes is so limited, you practically need to knock down a house to build a new one. If you find yourself in this position, a purchase plus improvement mortgage may be right for you. With the purchase plus improvement program, homeowners can renovate their new home immediately after taking possession, enjoy the convenience of having one mortgage payment, benefit from lower interest rates, and enjoy the payment flexibility that comes with extended amortization. Contact Client First Mortgage Solutions today and talk with an experienced Mortgage Advisor to see if the Purchase Plus Improvements program is right for you.
Price trends continued to vary widely by location. In the Fraser Valley and Greater Vancouver, prices have been recovering in recent months after having dipped in the second half of last year. On a year-over-year basis, home prices in the Fraser Valley and Greater Vancouver remain well above year-ago levels (+19.4% year-over-year and +12.7% year-over-year respectively).
Meanwhile, year-over-year benchmark price increases were in the 20% range in Victoria and elsewhere on Vancouver Island. Guelph recorded a similar price gain, while Greater Toronto and Oakville-Milton saw prices rise in the 30% range in March, fulling continued concerns of a housing bubble and precipitating today’s meeting of federal and provincial policy makers.
By comparison, home prices eased by 1.2% year-over-year in Calgary and by 1.5% year-over-year in Saskatoon. Prices in these two markets now stand 5.4% and 5.1% below their respective peaks reached in 2015.
Home prices were up modestly from year-ago levels in Regina (+1.7%), Ottawa (+4%), Greater Montreal (+3.3% year-over-year) and Greater Moncton (+4.7%).
The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold in March 2017 was $548,517, up 8.2% from where it stood one year earlier.
The national average price continues to be pulled upward by sales activity in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, which remain two of Canada’s tightest, most active and expensive housing markets.
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