Canada’s home prices saw another double-digit rise in March as sales became more active, according to a report Tuesday by the Canadian Real Estate Association.
The Aggregate Composite MLS Home Price Index, which measures the price of a typical property at each market, soared 18.6% year-over-year in March after gaining 16% in February.
The index takes into consideration factors that average and median prices do not, such as lot size, age and number of rooms.
The actual national average price of homes sold in March in Canada was C$548,517 (US$410,291) prior to seasonal adjustment, according to the report.
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Meanwhile, home sales edged up 1.1% in March compared with February, the highest monthly increase since April 2016. Sales activity in March was up 6.6% from a year ago.
While 75% of the 13 markets tracked by the association reported more sales, Toronto and surrounding areas posted the biggest increase. The number of sales rose 17% year-over-year to 12,077 in Toronto, according to the report.
"The current strength in national home sales mainly speaks to what’s going on in and around Toronto," Andrew Peck, president of Canadian Real Estate Association, said in the report.
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By comparison, Greater Vancouver continued to slow down, partly due to the province’s cooling measures, including a 15% foreign buyers’ transfer tax that went into effect last August. In March, the number of sales in this region declined 37.9% to 1,350 from a year ago.
However, the Greater Vancouver area still boasted higher home prices than its east coast counterpart. The index prices for Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto stood at C$919,300 (US$687,636) and C$772,500 (US$577,830), rising 13% and 29% year-over-year, respectively.