The Hamilton Spectator

Home prices rise across country

-

Canada's residentia­l real estate market posted strong home price appreciati­on in the second quarter of 2017, with most regions displaying healthy housing trends.

According to Royal LePage's House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast, the price of a home in Canada rose 13.7 per cent yearover-year to $609,104 in the second quarter.

Over the same period, the price of a twostorey home and bungalow climbed 14.6 and 13.4 per cent, respective­ly to $725,336 and $511,881. Canada's supply of condominiu­ms also saw a significan­t rise in pricing, surging 13.4 per cent year-over-year to $397,869.

“Canada's residentia­l real estate market has gradually begun to return to normal, as conditions continue to stabilize across the country,” explained Ontario-based real estate agent, Brad Johnstone.

During the quarter, the overall health of the Canadian economy played a significan­t factor in the stability of the country's real estate market. While price appreciati­on in Ontario largely remained unsustaina­ble, posting an aggregate year-over-year gain of 20.6 per cent, all other provinces except for Prince Edward Island turned in positive, healthy price improvemen­ts. Most notably, Canada's most affordable housing market, New Brunswick, trailed only Ontario in terms of appreciati­on, rising by 6.3 per cent year-over-year to $189,000. Next up, Quebec rose by 5.1 per cent over the same period to $308,824.

Looking ahead to the rest of the year, the real estate firm forecasts that the national aggregate price of a home will increase by 9.5 per cent in 2017.

“With the majority of regions on solid footing, we anticipate that pricing will continue their upward trajectory, albeit at a more moderate pace,” said Johnstone.

“While sanity slowly returns to southweste­rn Ontario, properties across the lower mainland of British Columbia and in Alberta, having seemingly recovered from their respective challenges, are likely now on track to grow at a healthy and sustainabl­e pace for the remainder of the year.” (NC)

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada