Teranet Index - April 2011

Canadian home prices at an all-time high Canadian home prices in April were up 1.1% from the previous month, according to the Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index™. That rise took the index to a record 140.47 (June 2005 = 100). The April increase was the largest of five consecutive monthly rises following three straight monthly declines. For the first time in 10 months, prices rose in all six of the metropolitan markets surveyed. The gain was 1.8% in Vancouver, 1.4% in Ottawa, 1.0% in Montreal, 0.8% in Halifax, 0.7% in Toronto and 0.6% in Calgary. For Calgary it was only the second monthly rise in nine months. Vancouver extended its string of monthly increases to seven, the longest run among the six markets. 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

The 12-month gain of the composite index was 4.4% in April, an acceleration from 4.1% in March. The largest 12-month rise was 7.5% in Ottawa, followed by 7.4% in Montreal, 5.8% in Vancouver, 5.3% in Halifax and 4.1% in Toronto. Though Toronto's 12-month inflation was the smallest, its market and Ottawa's were the only two to accelerate for a second consecutive month. Twelve-month inflation decelerated for a fourth consecutive month in Halifax. Calgary prices were down 3.5% from a year earlier, making April the seventh consecutive month of 12-month deflation. The large rise of the composite index in April may have been due to front-loading of sales to beat the announced shortening of the maximum amortization period for insured mortgages. In May, according to seasonally adjusted data from the Canadian Real Estate Association, home sales were flat from April in the major urban markets and market conditions were little changed - somewhat tight in Toronto, rather balanced on the whole. 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 April % change m/m % change y/y Calgary 152.81 0.6 % -3.5 % Halifax 134.13 0.8 % 5.3 % Montreal 140.39 1.0 % 7.4 % Ottawa 132.69 1.4 % 7.5 % Toronto 126.62 0.7 % 4.1 % Vancouver 162.26 1.8 % 5.8 % National Composite 140.47 1.1 % 4.4 % 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.