Calgary and Edmonton housing markets have been described as “lethargic” in a report released Monday on prices for repeat home sales.

The Teranet–National Bank National Composite House Price Index indicated prices in December were down 0.94 per cent in Calgary from a year ago while Edmonton saw a decline of 1.49 per cent.

The report also showed that Calgary prices have declined by 6.24 per cent from their peak in October 2014 while Edmonton prices have decreased by 6.96 per cent from their peak in September 2007.

The 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.

On a month-over-month basis, Calgary prices declined by 0.6 per cent in December and they were off by 0.2 per cent in Edmonton.

Nationally prices rose by 0.2 per cent from the previous month. Marc Pinsonneault, Senior Economist with the National Bank of Canada, said the national number was a “good showing for a month of December, equalled or bettered in only three of the last 13 years.”

“Over the year 2019, as usual, the composite index grew fastest from May to August with smaller variations later in the year due to slowing home resale activity,” he said. “If purely seasonal factors were taken out, the resulting seasonally adjusted index would show a fifth straight monthly rise in December after six straight declines from February through July. In other words, the underlying trend of the index was a return of strength in the second half of the year after a shaky first half.”

“Over the 12 months ending in December, the cumulative rise of the composite index was 1.9 per cent – moderate, but it was a fifth consecutive month of acceleration.”

Mario Toneguzzi is a business reporter in Calgary.

© Calgary’s Business


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