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.
) show that the average price of a home in Canada was $637,673 in August 2022, down 3.9 per cent from the same month last year.
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 2022, down 5 per cent from six months prior. The Greater Vancouver area 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."
