Six of 13 major Canadian cities now experiencing annual home price declines: report

A new home price index for Canada finds more widespread declines in major cities.

The March 2026 House Price Index from Wahi, a Canadian real estate platform, and Real Property Solutions, found the national home price index declined three per cent on a year-over-year basis.

This is a slightly larger annual decline than what was observed in the first two months of the year, when the index was falling at a rate of two per cent annually, the report found.

The deeper drop at the national level is at least partly a function of more widespread regional price declines, Wahi said.

Notably, six major Canadian housing markets of the 13 major metro areas analyzed are now experiencing annual price declines, Wahi said.

Halifax has become the latest market to join that group, with values tumbling by two per cent year-over-year in March, trailing Ottawa, which in February had become the fifth major urban centre to post a decline.

Halifax now joins Hamilton, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria and Ottawa, where prices have already been trending downward.

“The Canadian housing market is performing a rebalancing act,” says RPS-Wahi economist Ryan McLaughlin. “Like other previously hot housing markets currently experiencing slowdowns, Halifax appears to be returning to more balanced conditions rather than beginning a pronounced downturn.”

Last fall, condo values were depreciating far more rapidly than any other housing type. Condo values (-6 per cent) were depreciating far more rapidly than any other housing type. Now, they have been surpassed by townhouse declines (-7 per cent), while year-over-year price reductions for semi-detached (-4 per cent) have also accelerated.

Detached home values (-3 per cent) have also declined on an annual basis, but continue to hold up better than other housing types.

It is difficult to know if the declines will continue in 2026.

“Looking ahead, macroeconomic uncertainty and rapidly evolving geopolitical strife make it difficult to confidently predict where the market is heading, but the RPS-Wahi House Price Index will continue to be a leading indicator,” McLaughlin said.

See the full report here.