17 Astonishing Real Estate Statistics for Canada

The real estate industry can fluctuate easily, depending on the current market conditions, economic developments, and other outside factors. Encompassing the many facets of property, real estate can refer to industrial, residential, commercial, and agricultural properties. 

In Canada, the organized real estate is nearly as old as the country itself.

The thing is:

It all started in 1888 when the very first real estate board was set up in the growing Vancouver community. Today, the home ownership rate is around 66.5%, as underlined by real estate statistics for Canada.

To find out more about the state of the Canadian real estate sector, we dug deep into the latest trends and stats.

Here’s a sneak peek.  

Eye-Opening Housing Statistics Canada (Editor’s Choice)

• The average housing price in 2021 is $678,091.
• The national average price of homes in Canada stood at $568,758 in 2020.
• A 13% fall in national home sales is expected in 2022.
• Canada’s home sales reached a record high of 47.2% in 2020.
• The home ownership rate in Canada is around 66.5%.
• Canada’s Federal Government committed $70 billion to make the housing market more affordable.
• Approximately 40% of first time home buyers are sitting out buying until house prices come down.
• As of 2019, the vacancy rate of office spaces in Canada was around 13.4%.

General Canada Real Estate Statistics

1. The average house price in 2021 is $678,091.

(Source: CBC)

CREA (The Canadian Real Estate Association) issued a warning in December of the previous year about the possible increase in housing prices in 2021. They expected the average house price to reach $620,000, as underlined by real estate statistics. 

As it turned out, this was a conservative estimate. In February 2021, home sales rose by a massive 39.2% compared to the previous period. This brings the average price of homes to $678,091, an increase of 25%.

2. In 2020, the national average price of homes in Canada stood at $568,758.

(Source: Global Property Guide)

House prices increased by 2.81% in the last quarter. Naturally, the average price rise differs by home type. For instance, a one-storey family home saw its price rise by 15.9% on average. In contrast, the home prices for two-storey buildings rose by 16.5%. Apartments had average gains of 4.2%.

3. House prices in Canada grew by 11.9% year-on-year in June 2021, real estate statistics confirm.

(Source: CEIC Data)

Canada’s house prices have an average growth rate of 1.8%, according to data gathered and updated monthly since January 1982. The growth rate reached an all-time high of 16.5% in March 1989.

The lowest recorded data was in April 1991 at -9.7%. The house price growth rate in June 2021 was 11.9%, showing a slight increase from the previous year’s growth rate of 11.32%.

4. Canadian home sales reached a record high of 47.2% in 2020.

(Source: Global Property Guide)

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many people to work from home and spurred the surge of house sales, with demand steadily increasing despite the ongoing crisis. So, home sales in Canada set a record high of 47.2% in December 2020, as some Canadian real estate trends highlighted. 

What’s more:

This is the largest year-on-year increase in the last 11 years, as the 2020 Statistical Report from CREA points out. The total sales for 2020 amounted to 551,392 units.

5. A realtor warns that Canada’s housing prices could fall 40% in a major housing market correction. 

(Source: Straight.com)

The Canadian housing market is overheated, and there is a real fear that it can crash. Holywell Properties realtor Adam Major predicts that if the average mortgage rate reaches 5.5% in five years from 2021, there is a real possibility that house prices will plunge by as much as 40%.

This could pose more problems in the long run, especially if people find that the amount they owe could be more than the worth of their houses.

6. In 2018, the inventory of condominiums under construction reached nearly 121,000 units, real estate statistics for Canada confirm.  

(Source: PWC)

Condos are becoming the hot trend nowadays. So, it should come as no surprise that condo construction has far outpaced single-family and rental housing. In fact, it accounted for 54% of the inventory under construction in 2018, with almost 121,000 units. In comparison, single-family housing only recorded 46,747 units, while rentals were at 56,394 units.

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Canadian Home Ownership Statistics

7. Home ownership in Canada stands at around 66.5%.

(Source: Statista)

Residential real estate in the Great White North is a mix of new and existing properties, as illustrated by statistics on home ownership in Canada. About two-thirds of Canadians own a home.

Even so, many Canadians are worried that the soaring house prices will make home ownership a distant dream. Young people in particular are struggling to get a job that can cover a mortgage.  For some, however, adulting doesn’t really require owning a home.

8. The Federal Government committed $70 billion in an effort to make the housing market more affordable.

(Source: CBC) 

The Federal Minister of Families, Children, and Social Development, Ahmed Hussen, has insisted that home ownership is still within reach of many Canadians. The government’s efforts to build affordable homes and close the gap in homelessness led them to a 10-year plan for the national housing strategy. This includes earmarking around $70 billion for the project.

But wait! There’s more:

Canadians can also take advantage of the First Time Home Buyer Incentive program. This entitles them to an incentive from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation where the latter pays 10% of their home price. To avail of this, they have to meet the conditions set by CMHC.

9. According to the latest housing statistics for Canada, 40% of first time home buyers are waiting for the house prices to come down before committing. 

(Source: Financial Post) 

Amid the skyrocketing house prices in Canada, one generation is holding the fort and resisting to commit until the prices come down. Recent research has found that four in ten Millennials are holding off the idea of buying their first home. 

The thing is:

They don’t mind waiting, and they are also the least likely to be optimistic about buying in the face of the current real estate market. Their hesitancy is understandable, seeing how the prices of homes are soaring to unattainable levels.

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Canada Commercial Real Estate Statistics 

10. In Q3 2020, the office vacancy rate in Canada stood at about 10.8%.

(Source: Globe and Mail, Statista)

The occupancy losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic were almost 2.7 million square feet in total. However, two of Canada’s biggest cities, Toronto and Vancouver, have registered the lowest office vacancy rates in North America. 

Here’s the scoop:

Real estate statistics in Toronto reveal that downtown office spaces had a tiny vacancy rate of 3.8%. Meanwhile, Vancouver has a vacancy rate of 5.7%. The latter’s downtown office space rents at about $36 per square foot, making it more expensive than the national average.

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House Prices in Canada by Province

11. The Northern Territories registered the largest year-on-year percentage of the housing price change between 2019 and 2020.

(Source: CTV News)

The surge in housing prices due to the COVID-19 pandemic is more apparent in the Northern Territories. It registered a huge 48.1% increase from 2019 to 2020. Nova Scotia also found average housing prices increasing by 30.4%, while Quebec noted a 22.5% increase. 

To underline the stark difference, the year-on-year market prices from February 2020 to February 2021 on the national level only increased by 25%, bringing the average price from $542,484 to $678,091.

12. The ten major cities saw their house prices rising by 9.36% in 2020, real estate statistics for Canada confirm.

(Source: Global Property Guide)

Eleven major cities witnessed an increase in house prices between 2019 and 2020. At 19.69%, Ottawa saw the biggest growth. It was followed by Halifax (16.32%), Montreal (15.24%), and Hamilton (15.06%).

Edmonton recorded the most negligible increase at 1.26%. On the other hand, Calgary is the only city that registered a house price fall of 1.47%, according to Calgary real estate statistics.

13. In 2020, Saskatchewan saw the biggest increase in house sales at 23.5%.

(Source: Global Property Guide)

Canada house prices set new records in 2020. Saskatchewan registered the biggest sales increase, followed by British Columbia (16.7%), Quebec (15.1%), Manitoba (12.9%), and New Brunswick (10%). 

What’s more:

Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador also recorded a rise in home sales activity. In contrast, Alberta registered a 0.2% decline in sales activity.

14. According to real estate statistics for Canada, the least affordable housing market is in British Columbia, with an average housing price of $916,741 in May 2021. 

(Source: Lowestrates.ca)

Of all Canadian provinces, British Columbia is the most expensive. It has been consistently higher than any other Canadian province for years. The city of Vancouver is the least affordable, with the surge in prices attributed to foreign investment in the market, especially from China. In comparison, the average house price in Quebec in May 2021 was less than half the price, $449,698.

15. Residents of British Columbia put down an average of 22.45% in down payments.

(Source: Lowestrates.ca)

Down payments vary considerably from province to province. British Columbian residents registered the highest down payment at 22.45%, translating to $159,762 on average. BC was followed by Ontario (20.35%), and Nova Scotia (18.54%). 

At the other end of the spectrum, Quebec recorded the lowest down payments at 14.68%. This amounted to $58,571, a huge difference of $101,191 from British Columbia.

16. More than 1 in 10 Canadian homeowners own several properties in the country’s three urban centres, Canadian housing statistics reveal.

(Source: Newswire.ca)

Around 14% of homeowners in Greater Vancouver own more than one property. The same is true for 13% of those in the Greater Toronto real estate market and 12% in the Greater Montreal real estate market. Around 40% of homeowners in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto have used equity from their primary residence to make the second purchase.

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Canadian Real Estate Market Forecast

17. As of June 2021, the Canadian home price was projected to rise by 16%.

(Source: Newswire.ca)

The aggregate price of a home in Canada has increased since 2020, mainly because demand is outstripping supply. Based on these real estate trends, Greater Montreal is predicted to have the highest change in housing prices at 17.5%. 

The large increases in the single-family detached property segment has driven the aggregate price gains higher, with 89% of the surveyed regions seeing a double-digit year-on-year growth.

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Final Thoughts

Recent developments have seen house prices rising steadily, as real estate statistics for Canada make clear. To make matters worse, incomes have stagnated. With this in mind, it is useful to look at the present Canada real estate market and recognize the common trends.

Hopefully, a solid understanding of where the market will be in the next few years can help Canadians make informed decisions when it comes to navigating the real estate industry.