What a typical
home is worth
A benchmark index rather than an average — the honest way to answer 'is the market up or down?'
Demonstration data · This index and the change it reports are illustrative placeholders shown while my board data agreements are being approved. They are not current market statistics and should not be relied on. For verified numbers today, call me on 416-998-1882.
The benchmark
home, tracked
An index, not an average. Averages jump around whenever the mix of what sold changes — a quiet month for downtown condos can look like a market-wide drop that never happened. An index holds the property constant and tracks what that same home would fetch.
Index level · 12 months ago = 99.1
104.4
+5.3% over twelve months
Benchmark price index — Greater Toronto Area
Rebased so twelve months ago = 100
View as table
| Month | Index level |
|---|---|
| Aug | 99 |
| Sep | 100 |
| Oct | 101 |
| Nov | 102 |
| Dec | 102 |
| Jan | 103 |
| Feb | 104 |
| Mar | 104 |
| Apr | 104 |
| May | 105 |
| Jun | 105 |
| Jul | 104 |
Why an index, not an average
An average sale price answers “what did the homes that happened to sell this month cost?” — which is a different question from “what is a home worth?”
If February is heavy on downtown condos and March is heavy on Oakville detacheds, the average leaps without a single property changing in value. That's the mechanism behind most alarming headlines: the mix moved, not the market.
An index holds the property constant. It tracks what the same benchmark home — same type, size and broad location — would fetch month to month, so a change in the line is a change in value rather than a change in what sold.
It's still an aggregate, and your street can diverge from it sharply. For a figure that reflects your actual home, the valuation is the better tool.
Reading the line
- The level
- Rebased so twelve months ago = 100. A level of 104 means the benchmark home is worth 4% more than it was a year ago.
- The shape
- Direction and steadiness matter more than any single month. One month against trend is noise.
- What it can't tell you
- Anything about your specific property, or about a neighbourhood moving against the region.
Let's talk
about it
Buying, selling, or just trying to work out whether the timing makes sense — a short call costs you nothing and usually makes the decision a lot clearer.