Teranet Index - March 2011

MAY 2011

Home prices up 0.6% in March Canadian home prices in March were up 0.6% from the previous month, according to the Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index™. It was the fourth consecutive monthly rise, after three consecutive monthly declines. In March, prices rose in five of the six metropolitan markets surveyed. The largest monthly advance was in the Montreal market, 1.2%. The rise was 0.6% in Toronto and Vancouver, 0.4% in Ottawa and 0.3% in Halifax. Calgary trailed for a third consecutive month, though its 0.1% decline was the smallest of the seven decreases reported in the last eight months. Teranet – National Bank National Composite House Price Index™ Contact Us For general enquiries: info@housepriceindex.ca For licenses covering all index-linked products, please contact: Simon Côté 514 879-5379 Website www.housepriceindex.ca

For the composite index, the 12-month gain in March was 4.1%, an acceleration - the first in 9 months - from 3.8% in February. The largest 12-month rise was 7.5% in Montreal, followed by 7.2% in Ottawa, 6.4% in Halifax, 4.7% in Vancouver and 3.9% in Toronto. Though Toronto's 12-month inflation was the smallest, it was up from February, as were Montreal's and Ottawa's. Twelve-month inflation decelerated for a tenth consecutive month in Vancouver and a third consecutive month in Halifax. Calgary prices were down 3.3% from a year earlier, for a sixth consecutive month of 12-month deflation. Seasonally adjusted data from the Canadian Real Estate Association show April home sales down from March in the major urban markets. However, market conditions were little changed - balanced for the country as a whole, a little tight in Toronto and Vancouver. Teranet – National Bank House Price Index™ The historical data of the Teranet – National Bank House Price Index™ is available at www.housepriceindex.ca. Metropolitan area Index level March % change m/m % change y/y Calgary 151.94 -0.1 % -3.3 % Halifax 133.04 0.3 % 6.4 % Montreal 138.96 1.2 % 7.5 % Ottawa 130.86 0.4 % 7.2 % Toronto 125.69 0.6 % 3.9 % Vancouver 159.36 0.6 % 4.7 % National Composite 138.94 0.6 % 4.1 % The Teranet–National Bank House Price Index™ is estimated by tracking observed or registered home prices over time using data collected from public land registries. All dwellings that have been sold at least twice are considered in the calculation of the index. This is known as the repeat sales method; a complete description of the method is given at www.housepriceindex.ca The Teranet–National Bank House Price Index™ is an independently developed representation of average home price changes in six metropolitan areas: Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal and Halifax. The national composite index is the weighted average of the six metropolitan areas. The weights are based on aggregate value of dwellings as retrieved from the 2006 Statistics Canada Census. According to that census1, the aggregate value of occupied dwellings in the metropolitan areas covered by the indices was $1.168 trillion, or 53% of the Canadian aggregate value of $2.207 trillion. All indices have a base value of 100 in June 2005. For example, an index value of 130 means that home prices have increased 30% since June 2005. By: Marc Pinsonneault Senior Economist Economy & Strategy Group National Bank Financial Group Teranet - National Bank House Price Index™ thanks the author for their special collaboration on this report. 1 Value of Dwelling for the Owner-occupied Non-farm, Non-reserve Private Dwellings of Canada.