The Canadian real estate sector is experiencing a good start in 2018. The house prices in the country are on the rise in January. Toronto is experiencing the first gain after a gap of 6 months.
The national average gain is 8.7 percent in January. But, Toronto’s gain is at 8.4 percent, which is below the national average.
The house price index of Teranet-National Bank composite increased by 0.3 percent in January 2018 from that of December last year. It has gained 8.7 percent in January than the price a year ago.
The house price index measures the changes in the resale value of homes. To avoid the monthly fluctuations, three-month average is considered. Though the national average increased, only 4 of the 11 cities in the state saw an increase in price last month. Toronto saw a 0.2 percent increase from its December average.
Marc Pinsonneault, the economist at the National Bank, said that it is too early to reach the conclusion that real estate sector is improving.
According to him, this swing in trend may be due to the rush to own homes with mortgages before stringent rules for uninsured mortgages came into existence from 1st of January this year. He is of the opinion that the increase in mortgage rates may affect the prices further.