Greater Vancouver housing prices edged up in April but trailed average housing price gains across Canada, according to Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) data released Friday.
Greater Vancouver’s housing prices rose 0.71% in April from the previous month on the MLS Home Price Index, and 3.62% compared to April 2011.
Nationally, prices were up 1.18% in April from the previous month, and 5.24% year over year.
CREA noted that the overall price gain across the country masks diverting trends among markets. It noted that:
- Toronto again posted the largest year-over-year increase (7.9%), with more modest gains in Calgary (4.0%), Vancouver (3.7%), the Fraser Valley (2.7%), and Montreal (2.3%);
- Year-over-year price gains accelerated in April in Toronto and Calgary but slowed in Vancouver and the Fraser Valley and were little changed in Montreal; and
- Single-family home prices again posted the biggest gains (6.4%), with apartment unit and townhome sales making more modest headway (3.6% and 2.7% respectively).
Greater Vancouver’s 3.69% price growth over the past year marks a slowdown from 25.19% growth over the past three years.
Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist, noted that besides diverging trends in different Canadian housing markets, there are different price trends across housing types.
“The one that really stood out in April was the accelerating price growth for the townhouse segment right across the board,” he said. “In Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, it was the only segment in which price gains accelerated.”
