The
index, which measures price changes for repeat sales of single-family homes,
showed overall prices rose 1.1% in May, the ninth time in 15 years that May
prices were up 1.0% or more from April.
The
index was up 2.0% from a year earlier, which matched the April rate and marked
the smallest 12-month gain since November 2009.
The
report suggested Canada’s housing market regained strength in the spring after
a long slow winter of decline following the government’s move to tighten
mortgage lending rules in July 2012.
Residential
real estate activity typically picks up in the spring, and economists have been
waiting to see if demand will return after a dramatic slowdown since the middle
of 2012.
The
report echoed one released on Monday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp
that showed housing starts jumped much more than expected in May from April,
suggesting residential construction may contribute to Canadian economic growth
in the second quarter.
The
Teranet data showed prices rose in May from April in nine of the 11
metropolitan markets surveyed, led by a 2.3% gain in Calgary and a 1.9% rise in
Edmonton. Prices were up 1.4% in Hamilton, 1.2% in Montreal and Winnipeg, 1.1%
in Ottawa, 1.0% in Toronto, 0.8% in Quebec City and 0.7% in Vancouver.
They
were flat in Halifax and down 0.8% in Victoria.
Year-on-year
prices dropped in two cities — Victoria, where they were down 4.1% from May
2012, and Vancouver, where prices fell 3.2%. British Columbia had the hottest
housing market going into the downturn.
Compared
with May 2012, prices were 6.5% higher in Quebec City, 5.8% higher in Calgary
and Hamilton, 4.6% higher in Winnipeg, 4.0% higher in Edmonton, 3.9% higher in
Toronto, 2.3% higher in Halifax, 2.0% higher in Ottawa and 1.9% higher in
Montreal.
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