Canadian Home Prices Climb in June at Record Annual Pace

The Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index, which tracks repeat sales of single-family homes in 11 major Canadian markets, rose 2.7% in June from May. It follows a 2.8% gain in May, which was the largest monthly rise in the history of the index.

All 11 markets were up for a fourth straight month, including a 4% gain for Ottawa-Gatineau. Hamilton, Ontario, and Victoria, British Columbia, also had strong month-over-month advances.

On an annual basis, the Composite index rose 16%, its strongest gain on record. It was led by a 30.8% advance for Halifax, Nova Scotia, followed by Hamilton at 28% and Ottawa-Gatineau at 25.8%.

Still, data last week from the Canadian Real Estate Association showed some softening in the market as burned-out buyers shift their focus from getting more space to getting back to normal after COVID-19, and the fear of missing out fades into a prevailing sense of “wait and see.”

(Reporting by Fergal Smith; editing by Jonathan Oatis)