Housing prices continued to rise in July

August 14th, 2017  |  Canadian Business

Following the 12^th consecutive month of gain reported in June, July saw yet another month of rising housing prices. July experienced a 14.2% increase compared to this time last year. However, month-to-month July’s growth was only 2%, down from June’s 2.6%.

Homes, rather than condos, however have seen a decline in sale prices this past July. The unbalanced sub-index for homes in Toronto, more specifically detached and semi-detached homes as well as row houses, declined 1.6% last month.

"Based on a survey of real estate boards that we conducted earlier this month, home sales declined on a (year-on-year) basis in July in most large Canadian cities west of Ottawa," said National Bank economist, Marc Pinsonneault. "If that trend persists, home price growth might decelerate in these regions."

Pinsonneault believes that both buyers and sellers in Toronto area, due to Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan, have recently sensed a future of softened housing prices and increased mortgage rates. This, Pinsonneault said, has lead to more buyers remaining on the sidelines while more sellers have put their homes up for sale.

"It's more balanced now," he told CBC News. 

Notably, outside of the Golden Horseshoe bubble, housing prices saw a growth of 0.7% in Winnipeg, 0.6% in Edmonton, 0.4% in both Calgary and Quebec City, and 1.6% in Montreal for the month of July. Halifax experienced a decline of 1.1%.