Aggregate price sees greatest annual gain since 2006

The growth accompanied a similarly astonishing increase in the average price of Canadian homes on a year-over-year basis, CREA said

Figures released by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) on Friday (July 15) revealed that the aggregate benchmark price of Canada’s homes grew by an unprecedented 13.6 per cent year-over-year in June 2016, up to $564,700.
 
This represented the greatest annual gain since 2006, as reported by CBC News.
 
The growth accompanied a similarly astonishing 11.2 per cent rise in the average cost of Canadian homes over the same period, up to $503,301.
 
CREA pointed at the overheated Vancouver and Toronto markets as the crucial factors in these increases. Not taking these cities into account, the year-over-year growth in June will be at 8.4 per cent ($374,760) only.
 
However, industry players noted that more and more locales are seeing higher numbers.
 
"We would normally insert the standard disclaimer that the national figures should be treated with caution due to the wildly differing performance at the regional level," BMO economist Doug Porter stated. "But, the double-digit increases are spreading: Of the 26 major regions covered, eight saw double-digit average price gains in June."
 
Prices stood in contrast to sales volumes, as June 2016 saw sales activity decline 0.9 per cent month-over-month.
 
“While home sales activity and price growth are running strong in B.C. and Ontario, they remain subdued in other markets where homebuyers are cautious and uncertain about the outlook for their local economy,” CREA president Cliff Iverson said.

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