Canadian homes prices rise again in record October

OTTAWA: Canadian home prices rose 1.3% in October from September, the strongest gain for an October in the index's 22 years, led by robust growth in the regions of Ottawa-Gatineau and Hamilton, Ontario, data showed on Wednesday.

The Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index, which tracks data collected from public land registries to measure changes for repeat sales of single-family homes, showed prices at new peaks in eight of the 11 markets.

Prices were up 2.7% in the capital region of Ottawa-Gatineau and 2.1% in Hamilton, with Montreal up 1.8% and Victoria, British Columbia, up 1.7% in October from September.

On a year-over-year basis, the index was up 8.1% in October, posting the biggest 12-month gain since February 2018. The Ottawa-Gatineau region, which straddles Ontario and Quebec, again led gains, up 17.1% from a year-ago, followed by Montreal at 13.2% and Hamilton at 13.0%.

Calgary, Alberta, was the only negative market, with prices down 2.3% compared with October 2019.

Teranet also has indexes for the urban areas around Toronto and Hamilton. Price gains outside Toronto again outpaced the city itself, reinforcing the view that many urbanites are fleeing in search of more space during the coronavirus pandemic.