Altus Group is partnering with CREA and several large real estate boards to expand the Home Price Index nationally.
Altus Group developed the technology that powers the MLS Home Price Index in 2009. It analyzes all of the sales data from a board or association’s MLS system, applies a value to a “typical” home for various types of dwellings for each submarket and tracks the relative change in value over time.
“We’re excited to announce that for the first time there is an agreement in place for all Canadian real estate boards and associations to join the MLS Home Price Index and create a truly national housing price index that encompasses all of the housing market activity. Providing all of our members with this level of analysis and visibility into the market trends is invaluable,” says Michael Bourque, CEO of CREA. “We’re pleased to continue and further expand our strategic partnership with Altus Group to deliver greater value to Realtors and the Canadian real estate market by providing consistent and reliable insights on a local and national level.”
The new agreement provides a framework to expand the MLS Home Price Index from the current 18 real estate boards to all of CREA’s 90 real estate boards and associations across Canada, representing more than 130,000 Realtor members. The expansion enables CREA and all real estate boards and associations to jointly provide a truly national MLS Home Price Index for Canada, says Altus Group.
“This is a reflection of the success we’ve achieved in our partnership to date, and the combination of machine learning and AVM technology delivers a powerful tool at a scale that brings greater value to everyone across the industry,” says Richard Simon, managing director of data solutions at Altus Group.
“Having greater access and visibility to data is critical in today’s competitive market and a national MLS Home Price Index will better equip Realtors to address the needs of consumers across all markets,” says Gregory Klump, chief economist at CREA.
