In March 2026, the national RPS House Price Index, which is based on the latest monthly actual home values in 1,000 towns and cities across the country, declined by 3% on a year-over-year basis. This marks a slightly steeper annual decline than the 2% drops recorded in both January and February, reflecting a broadening of regional price reductions across the country. As the Canadian housing market undergoes a recalibration, macroeconomic uncertainty and evolving geopolitical conditions add complexity to the near-term outlook.
Thirteen major metro areas are analyzed alongside the national index. In March, a sixth major market entered negative territory.
Halifax Becomes the Sixth Market to Post an Annual Decline
For the first time since 2023, a major metro area outside of B.C. and Ontario is seeing home prices decline on a year-over-year basis. Values were down 2% annually in Halifax this March. The Maritime’s largest urban centre had previously been humming at a healthy clip with year-over-year prices up between approximately 1-5% over the previous 12-month period.
A post-pandemic drop in interprovincial migration, which had sparked strong price gains amid Covid-19, as well as reduced international arrivals resulting from the federal government’s decreased immigration targets have eroded excessive demand in Halifax. As slower rates of population growth have set in, supply has also been increasing. There has been a groundswell of homebuilding activity in the region, with housing starts reaching a record high in 2025, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. These developments are working in tandem, contributing to the emergence of more balanced conditions in Halifax.
This is a contrast from the major B.C. and Ontario markets, which are in the midst of extended price corrections. March home prices in the Greater Toronto Area fell by 7% annually, while Greater Vancouver prices slumped by 5%. Despite the fact that prices in both markets have adjusted meaningfully from their peaks, challenging affordability profiles and economic uncertainty are likely keeping some homebuyers on the sidelines. The latter factor could also explain pronounced declines in Hamilton (-8% year-over-year). A major manufacturer and exporter of steel, Hamilton is more highly exposed to international trade policy than other major markets with more diversified economies.
Soft landings in Calgary and Edmonton
Calgary and Edmonton have transitioned from some of the hottest markets in the country to pictures of balance over the past two years. Similar to Halifax, supply-side fundamentals and an easing in interprovincial migration have worked to ameliorate rapidly rising home prices in these major centres in the Prairies. Prices are roughly flat, and inventory is suggestive of a market favouring neither buyers nor sellers.
Over the long-term, Calgary and Edmonton have responded to affordability pressures by releasing more greenfield land for single-family home development, something that has posed challenges in some pricier markets. For example, B.C.’s Lower Mainland is geographically constrained by mountainous ranges and the ocean. Calgary and Edmonton’s ability to respond more robustly on the supply side coupled with softer demand-side fundamentals should maintain the balance in Calgary in the coming months.
Gap between condo and single-family segments narrowing
In addition to price decreases becoming more pronounced on a regional basis through the first months of the year, declines have also become more widespread by housing type.
Specifically, the gap between price reductions in the condo segment and the other single-family home categories are narrowed significantly. As recently as last fall, detached home prices were flat, whereas condo prices were down 6-7% year-over-year. Today, prices for all property types have fallen compared to the same time last year. While condo prices are down by approximately the same percentage annually as they were this past fall, detached home prices are 3% off year-ago levels and semi-detached prices are down 4% versus March 2025. Interestingly, annual declines in row/townhouse values have overtaken condos in recent months.
About the RPS House Price Index (HPI)
The RPS House 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 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. All figures are rounded to the nearest whole number.
Access the RPS House Price Index Data
This article provides a summary of the key trends from the March 2026 RPS House Price Index. If you’d like the underlying data, sign up for the RPS HPI Public Release and receive the complimentary dataset each month, delivered directly to your inbox.
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Josh is a staff writer at RPS. He has been reporting on the national real estate market for 10 years, including for some of Canada’s largest newspapers and magazines.