Both Calgary and Edmonton saw decreases in the prices of repeat home sales in November, according to the Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index.
Prices fell by 0.6 per cent from the previous month in both Alberta cities.
Nationally, the index was down 0.3 per cent from the previous month.
“A November decline is not the norm – this was only the fourth in 20 years of index history. It was the second consecutive monthly decline,” said the report.
“November’s retreat was quite broad-based: component indexes were down on the month in eight of the 11 metropolitan markets surveyed – Vancouver (−0.6 per cent), Calgary (−0.6 per cent), Edmonton (−0.6 per cent), Winnipeg (−0.5 per cent), Ottawa-Gatineau (−0.4 per cent), Toronto (−0.1 per cent), Hamilton (−0.1 per cent) and Montreal (−0.1 per cent). The index for Victoria was flat. Indexes were up for Halifax (0.1 per cent) and Quebec City (1.2 per cent). … Market conditions are quite different in Calgary, where the index has now declined four months in a row, for a cumulative loss of 1.4 per cent.”
On a year-over-year basis, prices were down 2.7 per cent in Calgary and by 0.4 per cent in Edmonton.
In November the composite index nationally was up 3.1 per cent from a year earlier, a larger 12-month rise than in the last three months thanks to an abrupt index decline from August to October of 2017.
Prices in Calgary remain off 4.8 per cent from their peak in October 2014 while for Edmonton they are off 4.21 per cent from their peak in September 2007.
The Calgary and Edmonton real estate markets continue to struggle as a result of the recession in 2015 and 2016.
Nationally, prices are down 0.66 per cent from their peak in September of this year.
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.
The views, opinions and positions expressed by columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of our publication.
