Teranet Canadian house price index rises 5.4% in August

Hot markets in Vancouver, Toronto and Hamilton pushed the Teranet-National Bank Canadian house price index up by 5.4 per cent for the year to August.

The index, a composite based on resale prices in 11 Canadian cities, has been at an all-time high for six consecutive months.

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The Vancouver, Hamilton and Toronto component indexes were all at historical highs, reflecting seller's markets in those three cities.

The index for Vancouver shows prices up 9.7 per cent in the past year and 0.9 per cent on the month. That's not as big a jump as the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board reported for August, in part because the sale of new properties is not included in the Teranet price.

In Toronto, prices were up 8.7 per cent for the year and in Hamilton, 8.8 per cent. The Hamilton market is being pushed higher by proximity to Toronto and people priced out of the Toronto market are seeking cheaper real estate there.

But the overall Canadian housing market is very uneven, with increases below the 5.4 per cent average in Edmonton, Calgary and Victoria.

Prices are down on the year in Halifax, Ottawa, Montreal, Winnipeg and Quebec City.

Calgary's housing price index has been unpredictable this year as trouble in the oilpatch has resulted in layoffs and debt-burdened consumers attempting to sell their homes. Teranet reports house prices are still up slightly on their values this time last year 0.9 per cent but they soared 3.9 per cent in August. That could reflect higher value homes being sold in a month where the number of house resales plummeted.