A recent housing report by RBC Economics states that prices of condo properties haven’t been seeing much action.

“Condo prices, in fact, have already stagnated over the past six months both at the national level…,” bank economist Robert Hogue wrote.

According to Hogue, this is happening as well in “some of Canada’s largest markets (including Vancouver, Toronto and Hamilton)”.

“This contrasted with a solid 7.3% increase for single-detached homes nationwide over that period,” Hogue also noted.

Hogue’s observation about condo prices form part of his October 15, 2020 report about the performance of the real-estate market for September.

Hogue noted that the benchmark price of homes in Canada increased 10.3 percent year-over-year in September.

That was the “first time it’s been in double-digits in three years”.

“The strength was generally concentrated in single-detached homes,” Hogue wrote, adding that the benchmark price for this type of home rose 12 percent year-over-year last month.

“This was almost double the 6.2% rate for condo apartments,” the RBC economist wrote.

In some markets, the picture has not been good.

“Condo prices have flattened in Vancouver, Toronto and Hamilton relative to pre-pandemic levels,” Hogue wrote.

In a previous report on September 30, Hogue wrote that the “impact of COVID-19 on the housing market is complex”.

“The bottom line is we expect condo prices to weaken in larger markets next year…,” Hogue predicted.

In September 2020, the benchmark price of a condo property in areas covered by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver was $683,500.

This represents a 4.5 percent increase from September 2019, and a 0.3 percent decrease compared to August 2020.

In areas under the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, the benchmark price of a condo in September was $436,900.

The number represents a 0.1 percent per cent drop compared to August 2020, and an increase of 4.7 percent compared to September 2019.

In Victoria, the benchmark price of a condo in September 2019 was $512,500.

Last September, the value for the same condominium decreased by 0.4 percent to $510,600.

The figure also represents a 0.6 percent drop from the August 2020 value of $513,900.