Home prices up two per cent in July, with Victoria and Toronto leading: Teranet

Strong price growth in some of Canada’s hottest housing markets helped lead to a two per cent national price increase in July, according to the latest Teranet−National Bank National Composite House Price Index.

The index, which measures the price changes on repeat single−family home sales, showed the second−highest July jump in its 17−year history.

Victoria led with a 3.8 per cent increase from a month earlier, while Toronto’s 3.1 per cent increase was the 14th rise in 15 months, and Vancouver’s 2.3 per cent increase was the 18th consecutive month of gains. Hamilton set a fifth month of record prices with a 2.4 per cent gain.

The energy downturn in Alberta had a limited effect on home prices, with Edmonton prices flat and Calgary down 0.1 per cent, while in Eastern Canada, Halifax saw a 0.4 drop and Quebec City a 1.6 per cent loss.

Since July 2015, Vancouver has seen a 24.3−per−cent price increase on the index, ahead of Victoria with 14.7 per cent, Hamilton at 13.4 per cent and Toronto at 13.3 per cent.

Teranet says the gains in the four markets helped lead national gains in the past year to 10.9 per cent, for the strongest gains in six years.