What have been the drivers of gains for Canadian home prices since the mid-90s?
In a review of Canada’s major residential markets, a new report highlights the key forces behind significant property value appreciation over the past 30 years.
The REMAX Canada study of Canada’s larger urban regions reveals that the strongest markets exhibited price increases from around 377% to as much as 460% between 1994 and 2024. For example, the Halifax Regional Municipality achieved a 460% increase (CAGR of 5.91%), the Greater Toronto Area posted a 436.2% gain (CAGR 5.76%), and Saskatoon achieved growth of approximately 377% (CAGR 5.35%).
“The findings confirm that homeownership continues to be the greatest driver of wealth, especially at the middle-class level,” says Don Kottick, president of the real estate firm. “Each generation of Canadian homeowners – from Baby Boomers to Gen Z – has faced its challenges and obstacles. Today’s trade barriers, high interest rates and stringent lending policies may be overwhelming, but this too shall pass.”
Drivers of this robust appreciation include sustained population inflows (Canada reached 40 million in June 2023) and structural limitations on housing supply. For example, a Global Economic Housing Note prepared by Scotiabank in 2021 flagged that Canada had fewer housing units per 1,000 residents than its peer group of advanced economies.
Meanwhile, policy interventions including foreign-buyer taxes, empty-home levies, and mortgage stress tests have also shaped supply-demand dynamics.
Income growth in multiple regions has failed to keep pace with rising home values such as in the GTA where household incomes climbed roughly 34.6% over the same period that prices jumped more than 436%. That disparity presents challenges for younger buyers and signals potential structural friction in future price momentum.
Persistent supply shortages also mean markets are highly sensitive to changes in broader conditions including credit costs, permitting timelines, labour availability, and immigration settings. Without meaningful increases in construction, the report states that the imbalance could intensify, generating both upside pressure on prices and increased volatility.
Outcomes vary dramatically between metropolitan areas with Halifax’s rapid appreciation contrasting sharply with more modest gains of about 124% in Winnipeg, highlighting the need for regional diversification rather than treating Canadian housing as a single, homogeneous asset class.
