House prices slide for 2nd straight month in Vancouver, rise in Toronto: report

A new report released Wednesday indicates house prices in Vancouver retreated for a second straight month in November, with one market watcher saying they have further to fall.

Prices in Toronto continued their ascent, rising for a tenth straight month, as they gained 1.1 per cent in November, according to thereport on the Teranet-NationalBank housing price index.

The two-month drop in Vancouver that ended a run of 21 consecutive months of price increases has now pulled down prices in the city by a cumulative 1.9 per cent, the report says.

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National Bank economist MarcPinsonneault said in a commentary that the drop in Vancouver wasconcentrated in dwellings other than condos.

"This is consistent with the fact that the decline in house sales since their peak last February started in detached dwellings, and is so far deeper in that category.

"Due to measures imposed by government (qualification for an insured mortgage, 15 per centtax on foreigners' acquisitions, etc.), house prices still have a downside in Vancouver," Pinsonneaultsaid.

In Toronto,sales havereachedrecord levels, whether in the apartment category or for other types of dwellings

"We have yet to see a slowdown in response to the new ruling regarding the qualification for an insured mortgage," the report say.

Among the 11 urban areas included in the report, only Hamilton saw a bigger price increase than Toronto, with a gain of 1.4 per cent from October.

November prices were down from the month before in Winnipeg and Edmonton, at 0.2 per cent, and inOttawa-Gatineau, which had a drop of 0.8 per cent.

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On the plus side, Montreal prices in November rose 0.9 per cent, Calgary increased0.7 per cent, Quebec City and Victoria both rose up 0.4 per centand Halifax was ahead by 0.6 per cent.

On a year-over-year basis, Vancouver was still the leader in the country, with a 12-month gain to November of 19.3 per cent. Toronto prices were up 18.5 per cent over the same time period.