Canadian home prices up in August: says Teranet-National Bank index

TORONTO – The Teranet-National Bank house price index was up almost 0.8 per cent in August, with the strongest gains in Winnipeg, the Ottawa-Gatineau region and Toronto.

It was the second consecutive month in which prices were up in 10 of the 11 Canadian metropolitan markets surveyed.

Montreal was the only city that declined, falling 0.1 per cent from July.

The overall pricing index was up five per cent in August from a year earlier, according to Teranet.

Calgary had the biggest year-over-year gain at 7.9 per cent while the only city with a decline was Quebec, which fell 0.1 per cent.

TD Securities economic analyst Admir Kolaj said August’s index shows that home price growth continues to outstrip income growth.

“What’s more, the solid performance of the housing market through 2014 has occurred despite moderate employment gains of about 10,000 a month, on average,” he said in a research note.

“Looking ahead, a moderate employment picture and gradually rising interest rates suggest that the accelerating trend in home price growth may not be sustained.”