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 said that based on data in 53 markets, the price of a home in Canada increased 10.8% year-over-year to $626,042 in the quarter.

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

But the company said in its report released last week that the median price of a condo grew faster than any other housing type studied, rising 14.3% 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% year-over-year to $476,421, while in the City of Toronto, the cost of a condo rose 19.6% to $515,578.

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

Royal LePage said 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% 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% 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% quarter-over-quarter, respectively.

“To prospective homeowners in our largest cities, condominiums represent the last bastion of affordability,” Royal LePage president and CEO Phil Soper said, as quoted by The Canadian Press. “This is especially true for first-time buyers whose purchasing power has been reduced by tightening mortgage regulations.”

Residential Prices Shot Up 10.4% Year-Over-Year Last Quarter by Ephraim Vecina | Canadian Real Estate Wealth