Condo prices drop 7% as housing prices rise the most in one Canadian city: report

A real estate report shows while housing prices climbed slightly overall, the condo segment continues to see declining values.

Real estate platform Wahi and Real Property Solutions, a property valuation services company, recently released the May national RPS-Wahi House Price Index.

Overall housing prices climbed by one per cent on a year-over-year basis in Canada in May—the smallest annual increase since August of 2023, when home values were flat. The rate of annual appreciation has been slowing for three consecutive months, the report from Wahi and Real Property Solutions said.

“The beleaguered condo segment, especially in the Toronto and Vancouver markets, is one of the main drivers of the overall cooling at a national level,” Wahi said in the report.

Condo values plunged seven per cent annually in May, according to the report. This is tied for the largest year-over-year decline in condo values since the RPS-Wahi House Price Index was established in 2005. April and May of 2023, towards the tail end of the Bank of Canada’s last rate-hiking cycle, were the only other times that condo values fell at this rate.

In the Greater Toronto Area the condo market saw the average price drop down 6.4 per cent to $683,413, according to the the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board said in its May report. Condo sales also declined 25.1 per cent year-over-year.

The average home selling price, at $1,120,879, was down by four per cent compared to May 2024, TRREB found.

Across Canada, detached and row/townhouse values continued to prop up the national index in May, according to RPS-Wahi House Price Index. Detached homes increased by three per cent and row/townhouses saw a two per cent gain.

However, these fell short of April’s gains. Semi-detached values edged one per cent lower after remaining unchanged in April relative to the same time last year.

Prices remained up year-over-year in 10 of 13 markets, once again led by Quebec City, up 14 per cent, where supply is insufficient to meet demand owing to the metro area’s relative affordability. One-in-four properties in Quebec City are changing hands for upwards of 10 per cent over the list price, according to Quebec Realtors.

“A number of regional pricing trends persisted in May, with gains in Alberta and Quebec standing in contrast to declines in Canada’s most expensive markets,” said RPS-Wahi president and CEO Benjy Katchen.

Edmonton followed Quebec City with a 10 per cent year-over-year surge in values.  Behind Edmonton, Montreal and Victoria were tied for third in terms of appreciation with values climbing 8 per cent in each.

Although prices remain elevated from this time last year in the vast majority of major markets, the pace of annual appreciation in May was slowing or flat compared to what was observed in April in all 13 metro areas, according to the report.

“The sluggish condo market is weighing on Canadian home price growth, but it is not the only headwind,” said Katchen. “Tariffs have challenged consumer confidence, and some local economies have been hit harder than others.”

See the full report here.

Lead photo: Jeffrey Robb