Sizzling Toronto resale market posts huge price increase in August

The Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index rose to a new high in August according to fresh data released today by the organization.

The national composite index was up 2.3 per cent in August from a year earlier and 0.6 per cent from July, while indexes in eight of the 11 markets monitored rose, some of them very significantly.

Toronto led the pack with a relatively whopping 1.2 per cent month-over-month increase, the highest increase in the country. Canada’s largest city also saw a 3.8 per cent year-over-year increase, the third largest increase recorded in the monthly report.

Toronto was only bested by Calgary, which delivered an impressive 6.5 per cent year-over-year increase, and Hamilton, which logged a 5.5 per cent year-over-year increase.

The other markets that exceeded the cross-country average were Quebec City (+3.5 per cent), Edmonton (+2.6 per cent) and Winnipeg (+2.6 per cent). Markets that saw a month-over-month increase but lagged the national average were Montreal (+0.7 per cent) and Ottawa-Gatineau (+0.3 per cent).

The three markets saw their indexes decline in August were Victoria (-2.5 per cent), Vancouver (-0.1 per cent) and Halifax (-0.6 per cent). This was the 13th straight month that Vancouver saw a decline and the first time since September 1996 that Halifax witnessed a decline.

Here’s a chart that summarizes the markets tracked by the index:

Here’s a quick word from Teranet on how the index works:

“The Teranet–National Bank House Price Index is estimated by tracking observed or registered home prices over time using data collected from public land registries. All dwellings that have been sold at least twice are considered in the calculation of the index.”