Average and median home price

The average home price is the total paid for the homes sold in a period divided by their number. The median is the middle sale: half sold for more, half for less. Both describe what buyers paid, and they differ because a few very expensive sales lift the average far more than the median.

Formula: average: total sale value ÷ sales

Which to use

The median is the better guide to what a typical buyer paid, because one $10 million sale moves it by one place in the ranking and moves the average by thousands of dollars. The average is the one most boards headline and the one with the longest history, so it is what our market pages lead with where the board publishes it; the Quebec boards publish medians, so Montreal, Quebec City and Gatineau lead with the median.

Both move with the mix of homes sold. A month with more detached sales than usual raises both without any home becoming dearer, which is why a one-month change is weak evidence and a yearly change on many sales is strong. The benchmark price is the measure built to remove the mix.

Small samples

Below about 30 sales a month, a single expensive home moves an area's average by several percent. Our area pages say so when a month is that thin, and the rankings leave those areas out. Yearly averages, which the boards publish for each area, are the steadier figure for a small town or district.

Average and median home price in each market now

Across the 13 markets whose boards publish it, it runs from $429,708 average in Winnipeg to $1,225,426 average in Greater Vancouver.

Each market's latest report, as each board publishes them; the market pages have the area-by-area figures. Markets whose board does not publish this measure are not listed.

Related terms and pages

• Benchmark price
• Housing market reports
• Home price changes, every area
• Every term