StatsCan Q2 2026: Renovation Prices Up 2.3% Nationally — Quebec City Leads at +7.1%, Toronto and Vancouver Nearly Flat

Statistics Canada’s latest Residential Renovation Price Index for the second quarter of 2026 tells a story that goes far beyond home improvement budgets. It reveals a fundamental shift in how Canadian homeowners are experiencing the relationship between property values and the cost of maintaining them — a shift that has profound implications for the country’s housing market.

According to data published by Canadian Mortgage Trends on August 7, 2026, residential renovation prices across 15 major Canadian markets rose 2.3% year-over-year in Q2 2026. Prices increased 0.7% from the first quarter, with gains recorded in most markets. But beneath this national average lies a regional picture that exposes growing disparities in the cost of homeownership across the country.

The numbers: a regional split

Quebec City posted the largest annual increase at 7.1%, nearly triple the national average. Victoria followed at 5.3% and Halifax at 4.8%. In these markets, the cost of keeping a home in good condition is rising significantly faster than wages and inflation in most other categories.

Canada’s two largest housing tell a very different story. Renovation costs rose just 1.0% year-over-year in Toronto and were essentially unchanged in Vancouver. Toronto’s index actually declined 0.4% from the previous quarter, suggesting that the renovation market in Canada’s biggest city may be cooling alongside property values.

The index, published by Statistics Canada, measures the prices contractors charge for materials, labour, equipment, overhead and profit across eight categories of residential renovation projects. It is not seasonally adjusted.

Two different market forces

The divergence between these markets is significant because it demonstrates that housing prices and renovation costs are driven by fundamentally different forces.

Home values respond to buyer demand, mortgage rates, population growth, immigration targets, and market sentiment. When buyers disappear from the market, prices fall. When supply outpaces demand, prices soften. These are well-understood dynamics that have been playing out across Canada’s major housing markets over the past two years.

Renovation costs, by contrast, are driven by an entirely different set of factors: the price of lumber, concrete and steel; the availability and wage rates of skilled tradespeople; transportation and fuel costs; insurance premiums for contractors; regulatory compliance requirements; and the overhead and profit margins of construction companies.

These forces have little to do with whether a house in Toronto is selling for more or less than it was two years ago. A licensed electrician does not charge less per hour because the local housing market has cooled. A new furnace costs roughly the same whether the home it is being installed in is appreciating or depreciating.

This decoupling is what makes the current situation particularly interesting for economists and homeowners alike. The housing market may be softening, but the maintenance market is largely operating on its own trajectory — and in many parts of Canada, that trajectory is upward.

The Quebec City outlier

Quebec City’s 7.1% annual increase in renovation costs is the most striking data point in this release. To put that figure in perspective, it is more than seven times the rate of inflation and far outpaces average wage growth across most sectors.

Several factors could explain this outlier. Quebec City has seen strong population growth in recent years as people relocate from more expensive markets. This increased demand for housing services — including renovation and repair work — can drive up prices even when property values themselves are not rising at the same rate. Additionally, the age of Quebec City’s housing stock — much of it dating back several decades — means that routine maintenance needs are higher than in newer developments.

Victoria and Halifax present similar patterns. Both cities have experienced significant population inflows from larger, more expensive markets, and both have relatively older housing stock that requires ongoing maintenance and upgrades.

What the index does and doesn’t measure

It is important to understand what Statistics Canada’s Residential Renovation Price Index actually captures — and what it does not.

The index measures contractor pricing for eight categories of residential renovation projects. This includes major upgrades like kitchen and bathroom renovations, basement finishing, roof replacement, and structural improvements. It captures the full cost of professional renovation work: materials, labour, equipment rental, contractor overhead and profit margins.

However, the index does not capture every maintenance expense that homeowners incur. Routine repairs handled by handymen or DIY projects are not fully represented. Minor fixes — a leaky faucet, a cracked tile, a clogged drain — may not go through licensed contractors and therefore are not included in the index. The index also does not cover major new construction; it focuses exclusively on renovations and upgrades to existing homes.

This means the 2.3% national figure likely understates the total maintenance cost increase that many homeowners are experiencing. When you add in unrecorded repair costs, the real burden on household budgets may be even higher.

The holding cost revolution

Perhaps the most consequential insight from this data is what it reveals about a concept that has been gaining importance among housing economists: the holding cost problem.

Holding cost refers to the total annual expense of owning a home — property taxes, insurance premiums, mortgage interest, utilities, routine maintenance and major repairs. For decades in Canada’s rising housing market, holding costs were relatively easy to absorb. A homeowner spending $20,000 on a new roof and furnace could rationalize those expenses against the expectation that their property value would continue climbing year after year. The capital gains overshadowed the carrying costs.

But in a market where property values are stagnant or declining, that calculus changes dramatically. The same $20,000 in maintenance now represents a much larger percentage of potential equity. A homeowner who bought at peak prices and is watching their asset value decline while simultaneously paying rising maintenance costs is experiencing what some economists call a “double squeeze” — falling assets alongside rising expenses.

This dynamic is particularly acute for homeowners who purchased in the 2020–2023 period when prices were at or near historical highs. Many of these buyers are now facing the prospect of paying higher maintenance costs on assets that have lost value since purchase.

Age matters more than ever

The age of a home’s major systems is a critical factor that homeowners increasingly need to consider. A roof has a finite lifespan. Furnaces, water heaters and air conditioning units all have expected service lives. Windows lose their seal over time. Foundations settle and develop cracks. These biological processes do not pause because the housing market is in a downturn.

In older neighbourhoods — particularly in cities like Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Halifax — a significant portion of the housing stock was built between the 1950s and 1980s. Many of these homes are now entering or have already entered the age range where major systems need replacement. A roof that is 25 years old does not ask whether the housing market is good before it needs replacing.

This creates what could be described as a “maintenance cliff” for certain segments of the housing market: homeowners in older neighbourhoods who bought during the price surge are now facing both declining property values and peak maintenance periods simultaneously.

Implications for prospective buyers

For anyone considering purchasing a home in Canada today, this data reinforces several important principles:

**Look beyond the listing price.** A $10,000 difference between two similar homes could represent a $30,000 to $50,000 difference in maintenance costs over the next five years if one property has a newer roof, furnace and windows while the other does not.

**Prioritize building envelope and mechanical systems.** When evaluating a property, the condition of the roof, windows, foundation, heating system and plumbing should weigh heavily in your decision — often more than cosmetic features like kitchen finishes or landscaping.

**Budget for the next decade, not just the next year.** A comprehensive home inspection should include an assessment of the remaining useful life of all major systems. This allows you to estimate maintenance costs over the next five to ten years and factor them into your purchase decision.

**Consider the total cost of ownership.** The monthly mortgage payment is only one component of homeownership. Property taxes, insurance, utilities and maintenance can collectively add thousands of dollars per month to the true cost of owning a home. In markets like Quebec City and Victoria, where renovation costs are accelerating, this total cost is rising faster than the national average.

A historical perspective: how far have renovation costs really come?

To fully appreciate the significance of the current data, it helps to look at where renovation costs have been over the past decade. Statistics Canada has tracked this index for many years, and the long-term trend reveals several important patterns.

Over the period from 2015 to 2019, renovation costs across Canada were relatively stable, with annual increases typically in the range of 1.5% to 2.5%. This was a period of moderate economic growth, stable labour markets, and predictable material costs. Homeowners could generally budget for maintenance with reasonable confidence that their estimates would be close to actual costs.

The pandemic years brought significant disruption. Supply chain disruptions, labour shortages, and surging demand for home improvements — as people spent more time at home and wanted to upgrade their living spaces — drove renovation costs higher than they had been in years. By 2022 and 2023, many homeowners were reporting renovation cost increases of 10% to 20% or more for major projects.

The current data suggests that while the extreme pandemic-era spikes have subsided, renovation costs have not returned to their pre-pandemic levels. The 2.3% national average increase in Q2 2026 may seem modest compared to the double-digit increases of a few years ago, but it represents a new normal that is higher than what most homeowners experienced before the pandemic.

This has implications for long-term financial planning. Homeowners who budgeted their maintenance expenses based on pre-2020 cost levels may be surprised by how much more it costs to maintain their homes today. A roof replacement that cost $12,000 in 2019 might cost $15,000 or more today — even if the housing market itself has softened.

The skilled trades shortage

One of the most persistent factors driving renovation costs upward is the shortage of skilled tradespeople across Canada. This shortage has been building for years and shows no signs of abating in the near term.

The construction industry has struggled to attract and retain workers across multiple trades — electricians, plumbers, carpenters, roofers and HVAC technicians are all in high demand. Several factors contribute to this shortage: an aging workforce with many tradespeople approaching retirement age; insufficient numbers of young workers entering apprenticeship programs; and competition from other sectors that offer similar wages with fewer physical demands.

When skilled labour is scarce, prices go up. This is basic supply and demand. Even if the housing market cools and fewer people are buying or selling homes, the demand for renovation and maintenance work remains relatively inelastic — roofs need replacing whether the housing market is good or bad, and when a furnace fails in the middle of winter, homeowners cannot wait for prices to drop.

The skilled trades shortage also explains why renovation costs tend to be stickier than housing prices. When home values fall, sellers can reduce their asking prices relatively quickly. But when a plumber’s hourly rate has increased, it does not decrease simply because the housing market has cooled. These labour costs are embedded in every renovation quote and tend to move in one direction only.

The broader economic picture

The renovation price index also has implications beyond individual homeowners. The construction and renovation sector is a significant contributor to Canada’s economy, employing hundreds of thousands of workers across skilled trades and supporting industries. When renovation costs rise rapidly, it can indicate tight labour markets and strong demand for construction services — factors that have broader implications for economic growth, inflation and monetary policy.

The fact that renovation costs are rising in Quebec City, Victoria and Halifax while remaining flat in Toronto and Vancouver also reflects the uneven nature of Canada’s economic recovery. Different regions are experiencing different dynamics, and a one-size-fits-all monetary policy may not adequately address the needs of all markets.

Data sources and methodology

• Source: Statistics Canada Residential Renovation Price Index, Q2 2026

• Publication date: August 7, 2026 (via Canadian Mortgage Trends)

• Coverage: 15 major Canadian markets

• Methodology: Measures contractor pricing for eight categories of residential renovation projects, including materials, labour, equipment, overhead and profit

• Seasonal adjustment: Not seasonally adjusted

Key figures at a glance:

• National average: +2.3% year-over-year

• Quarter-over-quarter change: +0.7%

• Quebec City: +7.1% (largest increase)

• Victoria: +5.3%

• Halifax: +4.8%

• Toronto: +1.0% (quarterly change: -0.4%)

• Vancouver: essentially unchanged