Canadian Press, March 12, 2014 - TORONTO - Canadian home prices rose 0.3% in February, pushing the Teranet-National Bank national composite price index to a record high for a second month in a row. Home prices were up in all five markets surveyed in Western Canada and were down in all five metropolitan eastern markets except Montreal.
A record was set for the fourth straight month in Vancouver (up 0.9%), while Calgary’s increase of 1.1% helped it set a record for the first time since September 2007. Increases were also recorded in Edmonton (0.6%), Victoria (0.9%) and Winnipeg (0.5%).
Halifax and Quebec City dipped the most at -1.7%. Decreases were noted in Ottawa-Gatineau (-0.8%), Hamilton, Ont. (-0.5%), and Toronto (-0.1%). Montreal was up 0.7%.
Over the last 12 months, the index has increased by 5%, with prices in Calgary rising 9.6% and Vancouver by 7.7%. Toronto was up 6.1%, followed by Edmonton (5.3%) and Hamilton (five%). Winnipeg was below the average at 3.5% and Montreal was up 1.9%.
Prices were down in at least four markets for the first time since October 2009 as Victoria fell 3.4%, Halifax was down 4.7% and Ottawa-Gatineau slipped 0.6%. Prices in Quebec City were down for the first time in 15 years, falling two% over the last year.
The Teranet-National Bank index tracks average home prices in 11 metropolitan markets based on data collected from public land registries.
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