Canadian Home Price Growth Eases in April

The RPS-Wahi House Price Index posted a more modest 2% year-over-year increase in April, as softer conditions emerged in several local Canadian housing markets.

By Josh Sherman | 4 minute read

The RPS-Wahi House Price Index, created by Real Property Solutions and presented by Wahi, is a trusted indicator of Canadian home price trends.

Wahi, a leading Canadian real estate platform, and Real Property Solutions, the foremost Canadian provider of property valuation services, today released their monthly home price index for April 2025.

The Canadian housing market showed broader signs of cooling in April as more metro areas saw year-over-year price declines and the condo segment further weakened, according to Wahi, RPS’s official partner in presenting the index.

At the national level last month, the RPS-Wahi House Price Index increased by 2% on a year-over-year basis. However, this fell short of the 3% annual increase recorded in March and the 4% rise in February and represents a second consecutive month of moderating price growth. 

Single-family home values were once again behind the year-over-year increase to the national index. Condo/apartment values, which began tumbling in October 2024, declined by 6% on a year-over-year basis in April. This is the largest 12-month drop for condo values since June of 2023.

Condos have been weighing on the national index for the past seven months, but, more recently, price growth has been easing somewhat in the single-family segment.

In April, detached home values climbed by 4%, while row/townhouse values edged upwards by 2%. Meanwhile, semi-detached values were flat. In March, values had increased for all three of these property types — and by larger year-over-year margins.

“Uncertainties, both at home and abroad, have clearly been weighing on Canadian homebuyers,” says RPS-Wahi President and CEO Benjy Katchen. “The ongoing trade conflict with the U.S. remains a threat to the Canadian economy, and some homebuyers have clearly hit pause on moving plans,” he adds.

Others may have been waiting on the results of the recent federal election before entering the market. “There is at least one less uncertainty that homebuyers have to contend with,” Katchen notes.

Just prior to the election, data from the Conference Board of Canada indicated that consumer confidence was already rebounding from a record low in March. The uptick in sentiment suggests Canadians are now “cautiously optimistic” about the economy. At the same time, lower interest rates have improved affordability at the margin.

Whether these developments translate to a reacceleration of price growth remains to be seen. However, as prices do evolve, the RPS-Wahi House Price Index will continue to be a leading indicator. Recent appraisals are one of the data sources for the index, which also uses land registry and other sales data, making it the most timely indicator of prices.

More Canadian Cities See Prices Decline Year-Over-Year

In addition to the national RPS-Wahi House Price Index, which is based on an up-to-six-month rolling average of actual home values in 1,000 cities and towns across Canada, the indices for 13 major metro areas were analyzed.

In April, Toronto and Hamilton joined Vancouver as the only metro areas in which home prices declined relative to the same time last year. Values fell by 3% in Vancouver, while Toronto and Hamilton each experienced a 1% dip. As recently as March, prices had been up by 2% on a year-over-year basis in Hamilton, while they were flat in Toronto. Due to the higher concentration of multi-family housing in Toronto and Vancouver, these markets are more exposed to the condo downturn than others.

Among markets where values increased in April, the pace of growth eased in six and was flat in four, which further suggests a broader cooling period as even the strongest markets are seeing slightly more muted gains.

Quebec City remained head and shoulders above the other major metro areas with home values 15% higher than a year ago. Insufficient supply and relative affordability have put upward pressure on home values in Quebec’s second-largest metro area after Montreal.

The next closest markets in terms of year-of-year growth were Montreal and Edmonton, where values climbed 9%.

About the RPS-Wahi House Price Index (HPI)

The RPS-Wahi Home Price Index is the most comprehensive source for house price data in Canada and includes the median house price dollar values and extensive additional data by property type from a national to the local level. For more information, the complete methodology is available.

Long-Term Price Trends

The RPS-Wahi House Price Index is based on the latest monthly actual home values in 1,000 towns and cities across the country.

The index shows how property values have changed over time, relative to a base period (Jan. 2005 = 100). An HPI value of 300 means property values have tripled (on a smoothed, adjusted basis) since 2005.

The HPI does not indicate the actual price of a property. It demonstrates how prices have moved relative to the base period. 

Market Momentum

A rising index indicates an upward price trend. A falling index suggests price softening or correction. Since the HPI smooths noise and filters out outliers, it gives a more stable, reliable picture of pricing trends than monthly medians.

The HPI is based on an up-to-six-month rolling average, so it does not reflect short-term volatility, such as one-off surges in prices from luxury sales.