TORONTO -- Canada's residential real estate market saw strong, but slowing year-over-year price growth in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to a report by Royal LePage.

The real estate company says based on data in 53 markets, the price of a home in Canada increased 10.8 per cent year-over-year to $626,042 in the quarter.

Broken down housing type, Royal LePage says the median price of a two-storey home rose 11.1 per cent year-over-year to $741,924, and the median price of a bungalow climbed 7.1 per cent to $522,963.

But the company says in its report released Wednesday that the median price of a condo grew faster than any other housing type studied, rising 14.3 per cent to $420,823 on a year-over-year basis due to gains in many of the largest markets.

In the Greater Toronto Area, the median price of a condo grew 19.5 per cent year-over-year to $476,421, while in the City of Toronto, the cost of a condo rose 19.6 per cent to $515,578.



In Greater Vancouver, condominiums followed a similar pattern during the quarter, rising 20.2 per cent to $651,885, while the median price of a condo unit in the City of Vancouver rose 18.7 per cent to $775,806.

“We have become a condo nation in terms of volume – that is, where the new homes are being built across the country,” said Royal LePage President and CEO Phil Soper in an interview with BNN Wednesday. “But detached homes will return into the mix and be a factor into 2018.”

Royal LePage also says the GTA showed signs of slowing as 2017 drew to a close, notably in the single-family detached segment.

In the fourth quarter, the median price of a two-storey home and bungalow in Toronto and surrounding area fell by 2.0 and 2.4 per cent respectively on a quarter-over-quarter basis.

The company says condos were the only segment to appreciate on a quarter-over-quarter basis among all housing types, rising 1.1 per cent in the final three months of the year.

At the same time, the price of two-storey homes and bungalows fell 0.3 and 0.2 per cent quarter-over-quarter, respectively.

"To prospective homeowners in our largest cities, condominiums represent the last bastion of affordability," said

"This is especially true for first-time buyers whose purchasing power has been reduced by tightening mortgage regulations."

--With files from BNN 

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