House prices in Montreal hit a new high in June, index shows

The resale price of residential properties in the Montreal region reached a new high in June, according to an index that tracks housing prices.

The Teranet-National Bank house price index for Montreal rose 0.7 per cent from May to June.

It was up 3.59 per cent from June 2017, reaching 169.24.

The index uses June 2005 as a base, suggesting that house prices in the Montreal region have risen 69.24 per cent since then.

It is calculated by comparing the selling prices of houses, condos and townhouses that have sold at least twice.

This is the third consecutive month that the index has risen, and the second consecutive month that it has been at its highest point.

However, the gap between the current index and the equivalent period the previous year is the smallest it has been since August 2017.

The year-over-year increase peaked in December 2017 at 5.76 per cent.

A separate Statistics Canada index that tracks the price of new houses also reached a high in May.

The new housing price index rose 0.1 per cent from April to May, the federal statistics agency said on Thursday, after remaining flat for three months.

The index, which uses December 2016 as a base, was 102.5 in May, suggesting that new house prices in the Montreal area have risen 2.5 per cent since December 2016.

It tracks the price of singlefamily houses, semi-detached houses and townhouses.