Housing prices have continued on their downward plunge amid Bank of Canada interest rate hikes and fears over a potential looming recession, but the effect isn’t being felt evenly across the country.
But according to the CREA’s Home Price Index, some regions have only recorded small dips, if at all, while home prices in others are in complete free-fall.
Here’s how the housing markets across the country are shaping up:
ONTARIO
The benchmark price of a home in Ontario was $904,800 in August 2022, down 15.9 per cent from its peak in February 2022. The Greater Toronto Area similarly saw a 15.2 per cent decline in prices during the same period, from $1.36 million to $1.12 million.
But the biggest declines were in the communities that were within a two-hour drive from Toronto. The benchmark price of a home in Cambridge fell 24.5 per cent in the same period while Oakville, London and Kitchener-Waterloo saw declines of 23 per cent.
The only Ontario communities that bucked the trend and saw home prices increase were Bancroft, Sault Ste. Marie and Windsor-Essex, which saw home prices rise 10 to 14 per cent during this period.
BRITISH COLUMBIA
B.C. was the province that had the most expensive homes. The benchmark price in B.C. was $995,500 in August 2020, down 5 per cent from six months prior. The Greater Vancouver are saw home prices decline 4.6 per cent from February 2022, while the Fraser Valley region saw an 11.2 per cent decline.
The Chilliwack area saw the steepest price drops in the province, where home prices fell 16.9 per cent in six months. However, on Vancouver Island, the benchmark home price actually rose 6.9 per cent.
QUEBEC
In Quebec, home prices only began to drop in May. The benchmark home price in the province was $489,900 in August 2022, down 2.5 per cent. Similarly, home prices dropped 2.4 per cent in Montreal, settling in at $523,700, while Quebec City’s home prices only dropped 1.4 per cent.
PRAIRIES
In Alberta, the benchmark home price for August 2022 was $469,900, up 2.5 per cent in six months, and the CREA says prices in the province “appear to have peaked.” Home prices in Calgary saw an increase of 10.6 per cent — the biggest jump in prices in the Prairies — while homes prices in Edmonton rose 1.1 per cent.
The CREA says Saskatchewan home prices are “still rising slightly.” Home prices are up 5.3 per cent in the province. However, Manitoba was the only province in the Prairies that saw home prices decline. Over a six-month period the benchmark price in Winnipeg dropped 4.5 per cent.
ATLANTIC CANADA
In Nova Scotia, the benchmark home price rose 10.3 per cent between February 2022 and August 2022, settling at $395,300. This is still down from the peak in May, when the benchmark price was at $417,500.
In New Brunswick, prices are up 6.5 per cent over the same six-month period and in Newfoundland and Labrador, home prices rose 7.9 per cent. However, much like Nova Scotia, the CREA says the markets in these provinces appear to be softening.
On Prince Edward Island, home prices rose 13.1 per cent, more than any other province. The CREA says prices on the island “continue to edge ahead on a month-over-month basis.”
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
