HPI Monthly Report: Home Prices Down 0.3% in November

In November, the Teranet–National Bank National Composite House Price Index™ was down 0.3% from the previous month. It was the first monthly decline in a year. Moreover, it was very broad-based: prices were down in eight of the 11 metropolitan markets surveyed, flat in two and up in only one. Prices fell 1.6% in Halifax, 1.5% in Quebec City, 1.0% in Montreal, 0.7% in Winnipeg, 0.6 % in Ottawa-Gatineau, 0.3% in Toronto and Victoria and 0.2% in Calgary. Prices were flat from the month before in Vancouver and Hamilton and rose 1.1% in Edmonton. It was the first time in two years that prices were up on the month in only one of the markets surveyed.

Since in November 2013 the composite index declined only 0.1%, this November’s 0.3% decline meant that 12‑month home price inflation decelerated from 5.4% in October to 5.2% in November. That countrywide average was largely exceeded in Calgary (9.2%), Toronto (7.3%), Hamilton (7.0%), Edmonton (6.2%) and Vancouver (5.9%). Unsurprisingly, the resale market in these five urban areas is balanced or even tight. The 12-month increase was more moderate in Winnipeg (1.5%), Victoria (1.4%) and Montreal (0.6%). Prices were down from a year earlier in Ottawa-Gatineau (−0.2%), in Quebec City (-0.3%) and Halifax (−1.8%). The composite index has been up from a year earlier for 62 months now, since October 2009. The only one of the 11 markets to match that run is Toronto, though Hamilton comes close with 60 months.

For the full report including historical data, please visit: www.housepriceindex.ca