House prices across Canada slightly rise in January – report

Home prices across Canada rose 0.3% in January, marking the second consecutive monthly increase. According to the Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index, the uptick is slightly higher than the historical average for January.

However, the increase not across the board, as only four of the metropolitan markets surveyed showed gains. These include Vancouver (+1.2%), Victoria (+1.0%), Toronto (+0.2%), and Montreal (+0.1%). All the other indexes were down over the month:

• Hamilton (−0.2%)
• Ottawa-Gatineau (‑0.2%)
• Edmonton (−0.3%)
• Calgary (−0.3%)
• Halifax (-1.0%)
• Winnipeg (−1.1%)
• Quebec City (−2.0%)

For Montreal, it was a 13th monthly increase, and for Hamilton it was a fifth decrease in a row. According to the report, this marked the first time in two years that a rise in the composite index showed very little breadth.

Toronto’s rise was the first in six months, while Vancouver marked the ninth straight month without a decline. Vancouver and Montreal were the only markets surveyed whose index reached an all-time high in January. On an annualised basis, the composite index was up 8.7%, the smallest year-over year increase since May 2016, and the a seventh consecutive deceleration from the record 12-month gains of 14.2% last June.