Canada house price index at record high

New house price data in Canada reveals average property prices rose to record highs last month.

According to the Teranet-National Bank House Price Index, residential prices in 11 major markets climbed 13 per cent in January from a year earlier. This is the sharpest 12-month gain since January, 2007, and the twelfth consecutive month that the national composite index has now set a new high.

Toronto led the way in year-over-year increases with a 20.9-per-cent surge, followed by fellow Ontario city Hamilton (17.6 per cent), Victoria, British Columbia (17.1 per cent) and Vancouver, BC (16.4 per cent).

However, there is a big gap beyond the top four markets, with Ottawa-Gatineau’s price index rising 4 per cent for the fifth-highest increase.

To counter the rising Canadian property prices, especially in the areas which tend to be popular with immigrants, it is essential that those planning to move to, and ultimately buy property in, Canada get the best possible deal on their currency deal. This is no easy task given the uncertainty that has surrounded the Pound since last year’s Brexit announcement, and the foreign exchange market in general in the wake of President Trump’s shock US election victory.

When exchanging large lump sums for emigration purposes, only a small change in the market can have a significant impact on the amount of money you could be potentially starting your new life with. And, as has been well documented, Brexit caused some larger than normal moves in the market, which the UK is still to fully recover from.

Just prior to Brexit £1 would have purchased you CDN$1.880. However, within a few weeks of the Brexit outcome this rate had plummeted to £1=US$1.678. On an exchange of a substantial amount, say from the sale of your UK property prior to emigrating, such a fall has a massive impact on the amount of money you’ll have to start your new life. For example, if exchanging £150,000 the difference in Canadian Dollars received would have been US$30,300. In just a matter of days.

Since the Brexit vote, the value of the Pound has continued to remain extremely low. In fact, in mid-January it had plummeted to as low as CDN$1.582. Yesterday the rate was £1=US$1.628.

Currency specialists, like Halo Financial, understand why the exchange rates are moving and just what impact this has on your currency transaction. What’s more, they can also explain how to make your money go further and give you a range options on exactly when you wish to exchange, and how much you should exchange at a time.

To find out how you can make sure you can get the best exchange rate possible, and take advantage of positive fluctuations in the markets, visit www.halofinancial.com

Article published 21st February 2017