Update on Canadian home prices
Canadian home prices rose in July from June to hit a record high for a third consecutive month, but the slower pace of gains and falling prices in Vancouver added to recent evidence the market is cooling.
Recently released reports have shown that Canadian home prices are still climbing, up 0.7% in July from the month before. The Teranet-National Bank Composite Price Index measures changes in price for single-family resale homes. The same report states that home prices have risen 4.8% from July 2011.
Despite these reports, the trend of rising home prices is not expected to continue, taking into account tighter mortgage regulations which were intended to cool the housing market. In Wednesday's report, Teranet stated that a further decline in prices is expected in the coming months. It is believed that the hot Toronto market is helping to fuel the climbing average, and excluding the metropolis would show a more even national price average. The monthly price gain in Toronto was 1.6%, while Ottawa/Gatineau came in at 0.4%.