Compared to 12 months earlier, the benchmark price of a home in the resale market was higher in Calgary and Edmonton in June, but lower in cities such as Victoria, Toronto and Ottawa.

It is a similar story for newly-built homes.

According to data released by Statistics Canada last week, the largest year-over-year (y/y) increase in the New Housing Price Index (NHPI)* was in Calgary at +4.6% in June.

Of the 27 cities included in the NHPI, Edmonton posted the third largest y/y increase at +1.3%.

Despite the recent uptick in Edmonton, its index reading is yet to surpass the peak reached in June 2022. Calgary’s NHPI has been on a somewhat smoother upward track over the last two years.

The Ontario part of Ottawa-Gatineau recorded the largest y/y decrease at 4.4% lower in June with the NHPI down in 16 cities, pulling the overall index down by 0.2%.

As with resale prices, it is important to note that the starting point for the price of new homes varies greatly from city to city. The median price of a new single-family/semi-detached home in Canada was $775,000 in June compared to $615,000 in Alberta, $1,720,000 in B.C. and $1,005,000 in Ontario.** Even with prices on the rise in Calgary and Edmonton, they remain relatively less expensive markets.

In terms of what’s next in Calgary and Edmonton, a relatively tight housing market and our expectations for solid (albeit slowing) population growth should continue to put upward pressure on home prices in Alberta.

*The New Housing Price Index measures changes over time in the selling prices of new residential houses. The prices are those agreed upon between the contractor and the buyer at the time the contract is signed. The detailed specifications for each new house remain the same between two consecutive periods.

**Absorbed units in Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations with at least 50,000 people.

Answer to the previous trivia question: The first Olympics held in Canada was in Montreal in 1976.

Today’s trivia question: What temperature does World Aquatics (the governing body for all aquatic sports formerly known as the Fédération Internationale de Natation) say an Olympic swimming pool is supposed to be kept at?