In October 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 2% on a year-over-year basis. Values have been decreasing within the range of -2% to -4% since December 2025. The national index has been flat or decreasing since the midway point of last year.
Numerous headwinds have stalled the market’s recovery. These include weak condo segments in B.C.’s Lower Mainland as well as southern Ontario, trade tensions between Canada and the U.S. and the resulting economic uncertainty, and affordability challenges in major markets — namely Toronto and Vancouver but also places such as Calgary, Hamilton, and Montreal to varying degrees. With the Bank of Canada last month embarking on its first rate hike in more than three years, the market faces yet another hurdle to improvement.
Montreal market slows after marathon value runup
This October — and for the first time in more than a year — Montreal (+4%) was not among the top three growth markets. This is a significant change from earlier this year, where values in percentage terms in the metro area were still nearing double-digit growth.
The deceleration comes as no surprise based on recent activity. Home sales this fall have been sluggish in Montreal. The slowdown occurs as available inventory continues to grow. For 14 consecutive months, the number of homes on the market has risen, according to the local real estate board’s latest monthly report. A combination of fewer home sales combined with rising listings is limiting price growth — especially for the condo category. Several factors may be contributing to weaker buyer demand. Despite its relatively diversified economy, Montreal is not immune to the broader economic uncertainty affecting housing markets across Canada. Affordability is also becoming a growing concern. Home prices have risen significantly over the past decade, outpacing wage growth and making homeownership increasingly challenging for buyers.
Elsewhere, Quebec City (+10%) led all metros, followed by Regina (+6%) and Saskatoon (+5%). In recent years, relative affordability has been boosting Quebec city as well as secondary markets in the Prairies, which have also benefitted from stable employment and population growth.
Meanwhile, major markets in the Prairies remain stable, with Calgary prices flat and Edmonton posting a slight year-over-year increase (+2%) in October. In fact, stability is widespread outside of the flashpoints on the west coast and southern Ontario. Winnipeg (+1%), Ottawa-Gatineau (-1%), and Halifax (-1%) all landed in stable territory last month.
The softest markets remain in Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (Toronto -5%, Hamilton -6%) and Vancouver (-4%) and Victoria (-5%). In addition to economic uncertainty and extremely high home prices relative to local incomes, these markets must contend with the added weight of severely weakened condo segments. The recent BoC rate hike has significant implications for these markets. Investment activity has already been substantially limited. Rents, which continue to decline, are not sufficient to cover the carrying costs of a typical condo, an indication of the ongoing pressure on condo values. Any increase in borrowing costs would add to that pressure and could extend the current market correction.
Given the weakness of condo segments not just in Toronto and Vancouver but also Calgary, Montreal, and others, it is not surprising that when the index is broken down by property type, multi-family homes continue to underperform compared to single-family homes — and by a wide margin. While detached and semi-detached home values declined by 2% on a year-over-year basis in October, row/townhouses and condo units eroded by -7% and -6%, respectively.
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 October 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.
Sign up for the RPS House Price Index Public Release →
Get early access to the RPS House Price Index monthly analysis and public dataset, delivered straight to your inbox each month.
For more granular insights, including city and FSA-level data across five core property types, the Enterprise version of the RPS House Price Index provides the depth needed to identify where above-average gains are emerging and where cooler conditions are taking hold.
To learn more about the RPS House Price Index or discuss access to the full dataset, please visit here.
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.