What other real estate markets are seeing price hikes?

Major markets like Toronto and Vancouver saw modest increases in home pricing.

Throughout Toronto, prices surged $8,200 to an average cost of $1,070,100 between December 2024 qand January 2025. This raised the required annual income to afford an average priced home by $1,640 (or monthly payments of $43).

In February and March things didn't get better. According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), Toronto's average home price in February 2025 was $1,075,800 — an month-over-month increase in the average home price of $5,700.

Meanwhile in Vancouver, the average home price ticked upwards in January 2025 to $1,173,000, an increase of $1,500, as the income needed to purchase a home at this price rose $300 and monthly mortgage payments experienced an uptick of $8.

According to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), Vancouver's average home price in February 2025 was $1,184,100 — an month-over-month increase in the average home price of $11,100.

In contrast, Fredericton was the only market to show improvement in affordability, with home prices dropping by $2,300 to $338,800, as the required income was reduced by $450 and monthly payments by $12.

According to CREA, the ongoing affordability of Fredericton's housing market continued with housing prices dropping an additional $2,800 in February 2025.

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Mortgage rates were mostly consistent

As a sign of relief, mortgage rates remained largely uninterrupted in January.

While the Bank of Canada cut its benchmark rate by a quarter-point on Jan. 29, fixed mortgage rates held steady with bond yields in the 2.8% to 2.9% range before a brief dip due to bond investor reaction to tariff threats from the US.

As of March 2025, 5-year fixed mortgage rates range between 5.14% and 5.64% (depending on the lender and the borrower), while bond yields are now closer to 3.2%.

It appears variable rates will remain unchanged in the next month, as the Consumer Price Index sat at 1.9% in January, a 0.1% increase. This was in large part due to the federal tax holiday that took place from mid-December to mid-February; If this had not been implemented, inflation would have resulted in a year-over-year increase of 2.6%.

Given the Bank of Canada's rate cut in March, due to tariff pressures, most economists predict further reductions in variable rates throughout 2025.

— with files from Romana King

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David Saric Associate Editor, Money.ca

A Toronto-based writer and editor with both in-house and freelance experience on a variety of topics, including art, fashion, pop culture, film, television, music, current affairs, breaking news, and managing and money and P&C insurance.

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