Hot Toronto market helps pull national average home price up 8% to over $548K in March

Canadian home prices continue to march higher, with the average up to $548,517 last month, according to figures released Tuesday.

The national figure continues to be skewed higher by hot activity in and around Toronto.

The Canadian Real Estate Association said that in addition to prices, the volume of home sales also rose during the month, hitting an all-time record.

But as was the case with prices, the sales spike can largely be traced back to feverish activity in the Greater Toronto Area.

“The current strength in national home sales mainly speaks to what’s going on in and around Toronto,” CREA president Andrew Peck said in a release. “Elsewhere, sales either remain slow or well below previous heights.”

Vancouver had been a major factor in the run-up in the national average price for several months, until the government slapped a 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers last year that caused prices in the city to drop back. That trend appears to have ended as annual figures are now in positive territory in both the Fraser Valley and Greater Vancouver area. 

But Toronto is still the biggest factor in the national figure.

If both Vancouver and Toronto are stripped out of the data, the average Canadian house price would drop by more than $150,000, to $389,726.