Home prices drop for 6th consecutive month

Home prices plunged in March for the sixth straight month – the first March drop outside a recession.

Prices fell by 0.31% last month from February and were down by 1.74% from the peak reached in September 2018, according to the Teranet-National Bank House Price Index.

Compared to last year, prices remain 1.53% higher. The year-over-year increase, however, showed that the annual pace of growth is continually decelerating.

Toronto prices fell by 0.29% in March from the previous month and were down by 4.32% from the July 2017 peak. Prices were up by 3.26% from last year, but the annual pace of growth has decelerated for the past three consecutive months.

Vancouver was a little worse than Toronto. Vancouver prices dropped by 0.46% last month from February and were down by 4.31% from the July 2018 peak. Prices were also down by 2.1% from last year, the biggest annual decline since June 2013.

Meanwhile, Montreal reached a new all-time high. Montreal prices rose by 0.12% in March from the previous month and were now up by 5.46% from last year. The annual pace of growth is far outperforming the national index, but the city’s prices have underperformed the market by 20% since 2005. It’s less of a booming market and more of one catching up, according to a Better Dwelling report.