In their survey results for the third quarter of 2013, Royal LePage asserted the Canadian housing market has turned a corner after the “over-heated real estate market of 2011 and early 2012 drove some to the sidelines.” Metro markets from coast-to-coast are seeing major price growth.
“Buyers returned to the streets in droves, resulting in a sharp increase in home sales. In many cities, there simply weren’t enough properties on the market to satisfy demand, which put upward pressure on prices for the first time in 2013,” said Phil Soper, president and chief executive of Royal LePage, in the news release.
Nation-wide, the value of a standard two-storey home increased by 3.7 per cent, year-over-year to $418,686. Detached bungalows rose 4.1 per cent to $381,811 and the average price of a condo saw a 1.2 per cent rise in price to $246,530.
Vancouver, which saw stellar sales this fall, showed impressive third quarter gains as well. The city saw year-over-year price gains across all three housing categories. St. John’s, Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Calgary led the country in home price increases.
Here’s how the regional markets fared:
Vancouver
The price of a bungalow rose 5.6 per cent to $1,070,000. The increase in the cost of a two-storey standard home followed with a 2.7 per cent price bump to $1,156,500. Condos showed a moderate increase of 1.2 per cent, rising to an average price of $503,750 in the third quarter.
Calgary
Low inventory, a healthy economy and a surge in corporate workers drove price growth with bungalows seeing the biggest gain: values increased by 7.2 per cent year-over-year to $465,411. Condos followed, increasing by 5.6 per cent to $263,087 and standard two-storey home prices rose 3.4 per cent to $446,411.
Edmonton
In contrast to Calgary, Edmonton prices were largely level. Two-storey homes rose by 1.5 per cent to $362,000. Detached bungalows measured 0.7 per cent growth to $337,804. Condominiums saw an 0.5 per cent increase in value to $203,637.
Regina
Standard two-storey home prices saw the biggest price gain, rising 3.5 per cent to $372,250. Condos followed with a 0.9 per cent increase to $212,622. Bungalow values remained flat, edging up by 0.4 per cent to $336,500.
Winnipeg
Two-storey homes saw an incredible 8.6 per cent year-over-year increase, rising to $346,765. However, other housing types also performed well with detached bungalows rising by 4.2 per cent to $307,069 and condos increasing by 3.5 per cent to $195,226.
Toronto
After a slower spring, demand drove prices up, especially for bungalows, which rose by 5 per cent to $577,563. Two-storey homes followed with a 4.1 per cent increase to $678,016. Condos, on the other hand, had less pronounced price growth. They recorded a 0.3 per cent uptick to a new average price of $355,483.
Ottawa
Demand for high-end homes helped drive up prices. Two-storey homes rose by 2.4 per cent to $401,500 while detached bungalows posted a 2.3 per cent increase to $398,417. Because of an increase in inventory, condos measured a 1.1 per cent decline in prices to $259,000.
Montreal
Prices stabilized in the third quarter with standard two-storey homes posting the largest gains, increasing by 3.9 per cent to $403,007. Condos, which had higher than usual inventory, saw moderate growth with prices and inched up by 1.2 per cent to $239,819. Bungalows saw a slight, 0.6 per cent price bump, rising to an average of $289,306.
Halifax
Both condos and two-storey home prices rose by 5.9 per cent, reaching new averages of $214,000 and $329,333 respectively. Detached bungalows saw a 2 per cent increase, rising to $299,000.
St. John’s
As far as price growth is concerned, no other city could compare to the leaps experienced in St. John’s. Each housing sector experienced a 12.1 per cent boost in values, with two-storey houses now valued at $400,333, bungalows averaging $296,000, and condos climbing to $315,333.
For full details, check out the table below…
Photo: bruce…/Flickr
