Canadian cities are witnessing a record rise in home prices this year, with the Canadian Real Estate Association revealing that home prices have increased across Canada this spring, though some cities are experiencing greater increases than others. After a seven-month decline from June 2023 to January 2024, the national benchmark price began to rise again in February.

The national benchmark price rose to $735,900 in April, marking a four percent increase since the beginning of the year.

The average price of a detached home in Mississauga was $1,658,217 in April, a six percent increase compared to March, while the average selling price of all homes in the GTA was $1,156,167.

Many of Canada’s major real estate markets have seen price increases surpassing four percent since January, and compared to last year, the price gains are larger, according to a report from the real estate brokerage and blog Zoocasa.

Zoocasa analyzed standard home price data, including all types of homes, for 21 major markets across Canada and compared how prices have changed over the past year.

The report found that Calgary saw the largest year-over-year jump in prices with a benchmark price of $587,300 in April 2024, over $50,000 higher than in April 2023, representing a 9.9 percent increase, followed by Saint John and Saint John, with annual increases in benchmark prices of 8.1 percent and 7.6 percent respectively.

While some cities in Ontario are experiencing monthly increases, many places like Toronto, London, and Saint Thomas, Kitchener Waterloo, have not yet reached their peak prices from last year.

Kitchener-Waterloo saw the largest year-over-year decline, with the benchmark price for all types of homes down 1.9 percent from April 2023, followed by Guelph and the province at -1.7 percent and the Niagara region at -1.4 percent.

The report noted, "These declines can be attributed to reduced competition in these markets, driven by many potential buyers clinging to lower interest rates. With fewer active buyers, price gains will be more gradual and stable in these markets."

When looking only at single-family home prices, the benchmark price in Hamilton-Burlington and Toronto saw price increases of over seven percent in four months.