The Most Accurate Home Price Tool: What Buyers and Sellers Need to Know About the MLS

If you’ve been keeping an eye on real estate markets lately, you’ve likely seen references to the MLS® Home Price Index (HPI). And while you might know it’s an indicator of what property prices are doing at any given moment, you may not be familiar with exactly what the numbers mean, how they’re calculated, and how the info can benefit you if you’re buying, selling, or simply tracking the value of your home.

First, what is the MLS® Home Price Index?

“It’s a tool that tracks the changes in home prices over time,” says Chris Jokel, Senior Data Engineer at the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). “It’s an advanced, highly accurate way to gauge prices and trends in specific areas—an approach that’s a lot more meaningful than an average or median, which can be skewed by unusually high or low prices or low sales volumes.”

The MLS® HPI—available exclusively to REALTORS®—is calculated monthly and covers the majority of housing markets in Canada.