The prices for repeat home sales in both Calgary and Edmonton were on the positive trend of growth in June, with the capital city recording one of the biggest national monthly increases.
The Teranet-National Bank House Price Index, released on Thursday, said Edmonton prices rose by 1.5 per cent in June from May while Calgary was up 0.55 per cent.
On an annual basis, prices in Edmonton are up 0.23 per cent while in Calgary they’re up by 0.33 per cent.
The housing markets in both Calgary and Edmonton are benefiting from a slow economic rebound in Alberta. After oil prices collapsed in the second half of 2014, a recession hit in 2015 and 2016 with thousands of jobs being axed across company payrolls. The economic climb out of that bottom began in 2017 and is continuing this year.
However, prices remain off peak levels in both Alberta cities. In Calgary, they’re off by 3.46 per cent from the peak in October 2014 and in Edmonton they remain 3.75 per cent down from the peak in September 2007.
The index is estimated by tracking observed or registered home prices over time using data collected from public land registries. All dwellings that have been sold at least twice are considered in the calculation.
Nationally, in June, the index was up 0.94 per cent from May for 11 markets surveyed.
“Though large at first glance, the increase was the third-smallest for June in the last 14 years. If we ignore the seasonal component of monthly variations, we cannot speak of a soaring index. The latest run of monthly increases is merely a recovery of ground lost in the second half of last year. The composite index is now barely above its previous peak of August 2017,” said the report.
Prices were up in 10 of the 11 major metropolitan markets surveyed in Canada.
And nationally they rose by 2.87 per cent compared with a year ago.
Vancouver, Victoria, Halifax, Ottawa-Gatineau and Montreal all hit peak levels in June. But Toronto is 4.81 per cent down from its peak in July 2017.
Respected business writer Mario Toneguzzi is a veteran Calgary-based journalist who worked for 35 years for the Calgary Herald in various capacities, including 12 years as a senior business writer.
The views, opinions and positions expressed by columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of our publication.
