New Housing Price Index

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February 2011  (Previous release)

The New Housing Price Index (NHPI) rose 0.4% in February, following a 0.2% advance in January.

Evolution of the New Housing Price Index

Toronto and Oshawa as well as Edmonton were the top contributors to the NHPI increase in February.

Between January and February, prices increased the most in Regina (+1.8%) followed by Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo (+1.7%), Charlottetown (+1.5%), and Edmonton (+1.1%).

In Regina, Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo and Edmonton, the increases were primarily a result of higher land development fees.

In Charlottetown, builders reported increased prices as a result of improving market conditions.

Price decreases were recorded in Calgary (-0.4%), Windsor (-0.3%), Ottawa–Gatineau (-0.2%) and Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton (-0.1%).

In Calgary, builders offered promotional prices and bonus upgrade packages in order to stimulate sales.

In Ottawa–Gatineau, builders recorded lower negotiated selling prices in February.

Slower market conditions caused builders in Windsor as well as in Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton to reduce their prices.

Year over year, the NHPI was up 2.1% in February following a 1.9% increase in January.

The main contributors to the year-over-year increase of the NHPI in February were the metropolitan regions of Toronto and Oshawa as well as Montréal.

The largest year-over-year increase continued to be in St. John's (+6.2%).

Compared with February 2010, contractors' selling prices were also higher in Regina (+5.9%) and Winnipeg (+4.6%).

Among the 21 metropolitan regions surveyed, 5 registered 12-month declines in February: Windsor (-4.0%), Greater Sudbury and Thunder Bay (-1.4%), Victoria (-1.0%), St. Catharine's–Niagara (-0.8%) and Vancouver (-0.2%).

St. John's posts the highest year-over-year price increase

Note: The New Housing Price Index 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 or the Harmonized Sales Tax.

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

Available on CANSIM: table 327-0046.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2310.

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

The new housing price indexes for March will be released on May 12.

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.