Home price index shows sharpest May rise ever

The latest Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index has recorded its largest ever rise for May in its 19-year history.

The gain of 2.2 per cent also meant a new all-time high for the index for the 16th consecutive month; every one of the 11 metros surveyed saw higher prices compared to April.

Toronto posted a new record 3.6 per cent monthly gain; Hamilton matched its previous record set in June 2014 with a 3.1 per cent rise; and Victoria’s home prices were up 2.5 per cent.

While these three cities led the gains, there were also strong rises for Quebec City (1.9 per cent), Vancouver (1.5 per cent), Halifax (1.4 per cent) and Montreal (1.1 per cent); and more moderate but still healthy advances for Ottawa-Gatineau (0.8 per cent), Edmonton (0.6 per cent), Calgary (0.5 per cent) and Winnipeg (0.4 per cent).

The index has been extended from now on with an additional 15 markets added to the composite.

“We are very excited to announce the addition of the fifteen new CMA’s to the Teranet-National Bank House Price Index and the enhancement to our website,” said Darren Ablett, Managing Director, Mortgage Derivatives at National Bank. “We continue to remain committed to providing our customers with greater insight and analytics to the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Market”.

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