The average home price for all of Canada last month skipped 8.1 per cent higher compared to a year ago. But that healthy gain, as always, masks deeply divided regional stories below the surface.
Hit mute on the noise created by bidding wars in Toronto and Vancouver and the picture is more subdued, with the national average up just 2.4 per cent year-on-year in May, to $344,988 (compared to the skewed average of $450,886 when sales data from those two cities are priced in).
The oil shock has knocked back several markets throughout the Prairies by a few steps, experts say. “But many markets outside those hard-hit by the slide in oil prices are in fine or improving shape,” Robert Kavcic, a housing economist at Bank of Montreal, said.
Here’s a look at five residential real estate markets that posted healthy gains last month that are not named Vancouver or Toronto:
Windsor-Essex, Ontario
May increase: 12.2 per cent
Average price: $205,695
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Hamilton, Ontario
May increase: 10.1 per cent
Average price: $447,019
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