House price index inches up in May

June 26, 2019

The Teranet-National Bank composite house price index inched up 0.5 per cent in May from April. It was the first month-to-month gain in nine months.
However it was the smallest rise in the index for May in 21 years of index history.
“Declining interest rates and the strength of the labour market have favoured the housing market,” said Marc Pinsonneault, a senior economist at National Bank of Canada.
Canadian mortgage rates have turned lower in recent months, with the Bank of Canada signaling in April that further interest rate hikes were off the table for now. The central bank rate  has tightened by 125 basis points since July 2017.
The price index was up in nine of 11 metro markets surveyed. The outliers were Vancouver (with a 0.2 per cent decline) and Edmonton (down 0.3 per cent).
Calgary was up 0.3 per cent, Winnipeg rose 0.5 per cent, with both Toronto and Victoria reporting a 0.7 per cent price increase from April. Montreal was up 0.5 per cent and Quebec City 0.8 per cent.
The largest gains were Ottawa-Gatineau posting a 1.9 per cent increase and Hamilton up 2.2 per cent, Teranet-National Bank reports.