Charlottetown housing prices surge in first quarter
The aggregate price of a home in Charlottetown surged in the first quarter of 2018, according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey released recently.
Prices rose 14.8 per cent yearover-year to $267,498, the region outpaced the majority of housing markets across Canada in terms of house price appreciation.
When broken out by housing type, the median price of a two-storey home saw a sizable increase in the first quarter, appreciating 14.4 per cent yearover-year to $283,608. During the same period, the median price of a bungalow increased 17.8 per cent year-over-year to $231,075.
“Low inventory levels continue to amplify market trends in Charlottetown,” said Rudy Chong of Royal LePage Prince Edward Realty.
“When coupled with an influx of demand, prices have soared across the province, particularly in the City of Charlottetown and vicinity.
“Recently, many newcomers to Canada and international purchasers have come to Charlottetown to take advantage of the region’s ultra-affordable property values, contributing to low inventory and soaring prices. Meanwhile, baby boomers have continued to venture into the market to maximize their purchasing power and find the retirement property of their dreams. Together, this has intensified competition for property in the region, especially when considering the two cohorts’ wealth relative to the average homebuyer.”
Nationally, Canada’s residential real estate market saw slowing year-over-year increases in the first three months of 2018. On a quarter-over-quarter basis for the same period, home prices in many markets across the country remained relatively flat, with approximately half of the markets studied by Royal LePage posting slight declines.
“We are experiencing a broadbased, residential housing correction in Canada, triggered by federal and provincial intervention,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage. “Strong house price gains in the first half of 2017 mask some of the recent market shifts when comparing year-over-year home value trends.”
The combination of declining affordability and government intervention has for the most part neutralized very high home price appreciation levels in the greater Vancouver and Toronto regions, relative to the extreme heights witnessed in recent periods. However, the demand for housing is so strong that the rate of home price appreciation is expected to pick up again in the second half of 2018.
The Royal LePage National House Price Composite, compiled from proprietary property data in 63 of the nation’s largest real estate markets, showed that the price of a home in Canada increased 6.2 per cent year-over-year to $605,512 in the first quarter of 2018.
When broken out by housing type, the median price of a twostorey home rose 5.7 per cent year-over-year to $715,726, and the median price of a bungalow climbed 4.5 per cent to $501,985. Condominiums continued to witness the highest price appreciation rates among housing types studied, rising 10.3 per cent to $418,245.
“While we have recently seen both overshooting and corrections in Canada’s largest markets, on a national basis we believe the Canadian housing market is amidst a long-term expansionary cycle supported by strong economic fundamentals,” said Soper.
The Royal LePage House Price Survey provides information on the three most common types of housing in Canada.