New Housing Price Index, October 2013
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Released: 2013-12-12
The New Housing Price Index (NHPI) rose 0.1% in October, following no change in September.
Chart 1
New Housing Price Index
Hamilton was the top contributor to the national increase, with prices rising 0.6% in October. Builders in that region cited higher list prices for new phases of development and market conditions as the reasons for the price increase.
The largest monthly price increase in October occurred in Windsor (+0.7%), where builders reported that rising material costs, higher land development costs and market conditions contributed to the price gain. New home prices in Windsor have been relatively flat or falling over the past year, despite advances in March, July and August.
Prices rose 0.6% in both Regina and Saskatoon. According to builders, increased material costs and winter operating costs contributed to the price advance in Regina, while higher prices in Saskatoon were attributable to increasing material and labour costs. This was the largest monthly price increase in Saskatoon since April 2012.
Lower negotiated selling prices contributed to price declines in October in both Vancouver (-0.2%) and Victoria (-0.1%). Prices were also down 0.1% in Charlottetown. This was the first monthly price decrease in Charlottetown since December 2012.
Prices were unchanged in 7 of the 21 metropolitan areas surveyed.
Chart 2
Calgary posts the largest year-over-year price increase
On a year-over-year basis, the NHPI rose 1.5% in the 12 months to October, making it the smallest annual increase in more than three years.
The two main contributors to the annual advance were Calgary (+6.1%), and the combined metropolitan region of Toronto and Oshawa (+1.5%). This marked the smallest annual price gain in the Toronto and Oshawa region since March 2010, as the pace of growth in new housing prices continued to slow.
Other significant year-over-year increases occurred in Winnipeg (+4.1%), St. Catharines–Niagara and Regina (both +3.2%).
Among the 21 metropolitan areas surveyed, Vancouver (-1.5%), Victoria (-0.9%) and Ottawa–Gatineau (-0.4%) experienced 12-month price declines. Annual prices in the Ottawa–Gatineau region have been decreasing for the past three months.
Note to readers
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.
The index is not subject to revision and is not seasonally adjusted.
The New Housing Price Index for November will be released on January 9, 2014.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@canada.ca).
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