New Housing Price Index

View the most recent version.

The New Housing Price Index (NHPI) rose 0.1% in June following a 0.3% increase in May.

The top contributor to the NHPI monthly increase was Toronto and Oshawa (+0.3%), followed by Ottawa–Gatineau (+0.5%) and Montréal (+0.2%). These were partly offset by a 0.2% decline in Vancouver.

Between May and June, significant increases were recorded in Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton (+1.3%) and Winnipeg (+0.5%).

In Toronto and Oshawa as well as in Ottawa–Gatineau, builders reported strong market conditions, while in Vancouver, some builders lowered their prices in order to continue to generate sales.

In Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton, builders reported that they increased their prices due to higher material and labour costs as well as increased land development costs. In Winnipeg, the main reason given for the increase was higher material costs.

In June, prices fell in 7 of the 21 metropolitian areas, with the largest decreases recorded in Regina (-0.4%) and Charlottetown (-0.3%).

Year over year, the NHPI was up 3.3% in June following a 2.9% increase in May, due in part to improved economic conditions across most of Canada over the past year.

The main contributor to the year-over-year increase was Toronto and Oshawa (+3.5%), followed by Vancouver (+6.5%).

Other significant increases were recorded in Regina (+6.9%) and St. John's (+6.1%).

Compared with June 2009, contractors' selling prices were also higher in Winnipeg (+4.9%) and Ottawa–Gatineau (+4.7%).

Among the 21 metropolitan areas surveyed, 2 registered 12-month declines in June: Victoria (-3.5%) and Charlottetown (-1.8%).

Note: The New Housing Price Index (NHPI) measures changes over time in the selling prices of new residential houses agreed upon between the contractor and the buyer at the time of the signing of the contract. It is designed to measure the changes in the selling prices of new houses where detailed specifications pertaining to each house remain the same between two consecutive periods. The prices collected from builders and included in the index are market selling prices less value added taxes, such as the Federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) or the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST).

The HST came into effect July 1st, 2010, in Ontario and British Columbia. According to the Canada Revenue Agency "[if] the written agreement of purchase and sale is entered into after June 18, 2009 (November 18, 2009, in British Columbia), and both ownership and possession of the house transfer to the purchaser after June 2010, the HST at 13% (12% in British Columbia) would apply to the sale." A certain number of builders in Ontario and in British Columbia did not yet include the HST in the prices of some of their new houses, as this release refers to the reference month of June 2010.

The provincial sales tax on building materials in Ontario and in British Columbia is embedded in the contractor's selling prices of new houses. With the introduction of the HST in these two provinces, this provincial sales tax will be eliminated and replaced by the HST. As value added taxes are conceptually excluded from the index, this change may cause negative monthly variations in the index for some metropolitan regions in Ontario and British Columbia during the implementation period of the tax.

This release presents data that are not seasonally adjusted and the indexes published are final.

Available on CANSIM: table 327-0005.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2310.

The second quarter 2010 issue of Capital Expenditure Price Statistics (62-007-X, free) will be available in October.

The New Housing Price Indexes for July will be released on September 9.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Client Services (613-951-4550; toll-free 1-888-951-4550; fax: 613-951-3117; ppd-info-dpp@statcan.gc.ca), Producer Prices Division.