Canadian Real Estate Saw A “Typical” Home Price Rise Up To $73,000 Just Last Month

Everyone thinks their real estate market is hot, but they don’t realize they almost all are. Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) data shows large home price gains in January. Not just for the year, but for the actual month. The increases were actually so big, almost two dozen markets saw prices climb 5-digits.

The Price of A Typical Home Across Canada Is Up $79,800

The price of a typical home across Canada made a sharp increase, not just over the year – but last month. The benchmark price reached $669,000 in January, up 2.2% (+$14,400) from a month before. This represents an increase of 13.5% ($79,800) from the same month one year ago. To say this is an astronomical increase in home prices at the national level, is a bit of an understatement. 

Canadian Real Estate Benchmark Price

The benchmark price of a typical home accros Canada, in Canadian dollars.
Source: CREA, Better Dwelling.

Home Prices Grow At The Fastest Rate Since 2017

This rate of price growth is highly unusual, and hasn’t been seen in a few years. With a typical home increasing $79,800 from a year before, this is the biggest annual dollar gain since May 2017. As for the 13.5% increase, it’s also the highest annual rate of growth since June 2017. While it sounds a lot like a redux of 2017, there’s an important difference – this isn’t just Toronto or Vancouver. It’s almost every market in the country. Even places with shrinking populations. 

Canadian Real Estate 12-Month Price Change

The 12-month increase of a typical home across Canada, in Canadian dollars.
Source: CREA, Better Dwelling.

Only 5 Markets Saw A Negative Monthly Move 

Only 5 markets saw a negative monthly move last month. Regina and North Bay both saw prices drop by $5,600 in January. Saskatoon saw a typical home drop by $1,700, and the Kawarthas saw a $1,000 pull back. Edmonton had the smallest drop, with typical home prices dropping by $700 in the month, and that’s it. Not one real estate market across Canada saw a negative annual price movement either. 

Prices In A Toronto Suburb Jumped Over $73,000 Just Last Month

To contrast, 37 markets saw big monthly gains – with 12 of them in the 5-digit range. The biggest gain was in the pricey Toronto suburb of Oakville, where the price of a typical home reached $1,259,300. The market saw an increase of 6.2% (+$73,600) compared to just a month before. The 12-month increase for a typical home in the region works out to a 20.1% ($210,900) increase. The home must have gone to an Ivy League school. 

Canadian Real Estate Monthly Price Change

The monthly change in price for a benchmark home in Canadian dollars in January 2021.
Source: CREA, Better Dwelling.

T.O. Suburb Sees $34,000 Increase In One Month

Mississauga, another Greater Toronto suburb saw the second largest monthly gains. The benchmark price reached $993,300 in January, up 5.38% (+$34,300) from the month before. The 12-month price increase is 12.0% (+$106,500) from last year. This was one of the 11 markets with a 6-digit increase over the past year. 

Canadian Real Estate 12-Month Price Change

The 12-month change in price for a benchmark home in Canadian dollars in January 2021.
Source: CREA, Better Dwelling.

Toronto Home Prices Performed Close To Average

Greater Toronto’s massive price gains seem much more calm in contrast, but are still near historic levels. The benchmark price of a home in the region reached $927,700 in January, up 2.0% (+$18,200) from a month before. This works out to an increase of 11.9%  (+$98,900) compared to last year. Mississauga, which we just talked about, is actually one of the regions in Greater Toronto. This indicates the suburb helped propel the numbers, and the City likely underperformed. 

Greater Vancouver Home Prices Up $9,200

Greater Vancouver’s gains were also very large, but seem almost miniscule compared to suburban Ontario. The benchmark price reached $1,056,600 in January, up 0.9% (+$9,200) from a month before. Compared to last year, prices are now 5.48% (+$54,900) higher. It’s a little surprising to see an increase of more than $50,000 not even register as a top move, but that’s where the national market is these days. 

Montreal Home Prices Increased $7,500 Last Month

Montreal home prices are booming, but aren’t quite at the levels being seen in Southern Ontario. The benchmark price reached $434,000 in January, up 1.8% (+$7,500) from a month before. This represents an increase of 16.7% (+$62,000) from a year before. Once again, massive increases. It just seems modest in contrast to other markets across the country.

Home prices aren’t just having a big year across Canada, they ripped extra high last month. The monthly increase in some markets is higher than the annual wages of most Canadians. It’s not an issue of notoriously tight markets with booming economies either. Almost every market across the country is seeing lofty gains, from B.C. to Newfoundland. Untargetted increases across a whole country typically occur for two reasons: The economy is booming, or there’s too much stimulus in the credit pool.

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2 Comments

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  • Bob Walter 3 years ago

    House price rises $73,000.
    Response: everybody thinks its great. Completely normal. No bubble, business as usual. Canada is the best place in the world to live after all.

    Then, next month people only talk about a chance of correction, maybe prices coming down 73,000.
    Response: OMG. You pessimist. Doomsday thinker. You want all Canadians to lose their livelihood and be poor.

    Difference: one month.

    Why do people accept a ridiculous rise more readily than even talk of a house price correction.

    On worldly scale, what is a pile of lumber, on a rock that’s frozen 6 months per year, worth.
    Only the market will tell, and time.

  • Cannuckster 3 years ago

    Well, Bob, maybe the Canadian housing market is trying to give Bitcoin a run for its money as the ‘best investment ever’ … greater fool theory is now hard at work with everyone hoping that the music doesn’t stop just yet. Oh, how the normalization of global interest rates would change things!

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