The HPI Home Price Index underwent its annual review and recalibration in May, and all HPI data going back to 2005 has been recalibrated to reflect recent home buying trends.
Our May 2023 Monthly Stats Package has been updated to reflect the latest buying trends. Any Monthly Statistics Package prior to May 2023 reflects old prices and indices, which are now out of date.
How do I explain this to my clients?
First, before explaining the recalibration, you’ll need to explain to your clients what a “Benchmark home” is.
According to CREA, a Benchmark home is a ‘typical home’ based on the features of homes bought and sold in each neighbourhood. The MLS® HPI uses over 15 years of MLS® data to define what a ‘typical home’ looks like and uses complex statistical models to do so.
If you want to know what a ‘typical home’ looks like in a certain neighbourhood, the most recent MLS® HPI Benchmark Attribute Report is now available on FVREB Connect. You can also use the MLS® Home Price Index dashboard on the MLS® Home Price Index page to compare two Benchmark properties.
How does this affect me?
The changes most matter if you have created personal graphs in Excel for a given area, or sub-area. You will need to re-extract the data, which is easy to do via the Share option on the MLS HPI Price tab of the Stats Centre page: “CSV – grab the raw data”.
Can I still refer to the Monthly Statistic Package prior to May 2023 for the HPI Benchmark prices and Indexes?
All HPI data in the Monthly Statistics Package prior to May 2023 is now considered out of date. It is not ‘incorrect’, as it was correct at the time of publication. However, it reflects the previous Benchmark Attributes, and is now considered out of date.
Here’s an example:
In the subarea of Aberdeen (Abbotsford), the typical one-storey home was built in 1991 according to our previous Benchmark Attribute Report in June 2022. After our latest HPI Recalibration, the typical one-storey home in Aberdeen was built in 1982!
Here’s a side-by-side comparison.
| Component | June 2022 | June 2023 |
| Gross Living Area | 1,599 sq ft | 1,599 sq ft |
| Lot Size | 21,780 | 19,123 |
| Year Built | 1991 | 1982 |
Can you see what changed? What attribute do you think buyers in this subarea are putting more value on?
It is important to note that if you are comparing the MLS® HPI between the most current package and the previous one, you are not doing an ‘apples-to-apples’ comparison. You may be comparing a five-bed, 1700 sq ft detached house to a three-bed, 1500 sq ft apartment, two very different kinds of homes!
In this case, you should go to the FVREB Stats Centre to get the most current Benchmark prices. This way you’ll be comparing ‘apples-to-apples’ rather than ‘oranges-to-apples’.
For more information on the MLS® HPI, including how it works and what it can do for your business, visit CREA’s dedicated page.