Prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, resale home prices were on the rise, according to the latest Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index (HPI), released on Wednesday.
The average house price increased by 0.4% in February — doubling the February average for the previous 10 years.
Seven out of the 11 markets covered saw an increase in prices in February, including Montreal (1.1%), Vancouver (0.8%), Halifax (0.8%), Toronto (0.4%), Victoria (0.2%), Ottawa-Gatineau (0.1%) and Winnipeg (0.1%).
Prices fell in Edmonton (-1.3%), Calgary (-0.9%), Quebec City (-0.4%) and Hamilton (-0.3%).
Prices were up 2.9% year over year, led by strong increases in Ottawa-Gatineau (8.7%), Hamilton (8.0%), Montreal (7.5%), Halifax (7.0%) and Toronto (5.1%).
According to the report, the outbreak of Covid-19 and its impact on oil prices and disruptions in the supply chain will likely change this upward trend in home prices.
“The unprecedented sanitary measures imposed by the authorities to tackle the pandemic will severely impact business activity and jobs over the coming months,” the report said. “In that situation, the home resale market should be heavily curtailed for the coming months.”