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New Housing Price Index, December 2017

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Released: 2018-02-08

New Housing Price Index — Canada

December 2017

0.0%

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — N.L.

December 2017

0.0%

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — P.E.I.

December 2017

0.0%

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — N.S.

December 2017

-0.1% decrease

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — N.B.

December 2017

0.2% increase

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — Que.

December 2017

0.0%

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — Ont.

December 2017

0.0%

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — Man.

December 2017

0.1% increase

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — Sask.

December 2017

0.0%

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — Alta.

December 2017

-0.1% decrease

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — B.C.

December 2017

0.2% increase

(monthly change)

Nationally, prices for new houses were unchanged in December, while showing limited growth in some markets.

Chart 1  Chart 1: New Housing Price Index
New Housing Price Index

New Housing Price Index, monthly change

In December, new house prices in Canada were unchanged for the first time since April 2015. Buyers in 15 of the 27 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) surveyed saw no price change. Increases in 8 surveyed CMAs across the country were offset by declines in the remaining 4.

In the Greater Golden Horseshoe, prices for new houses were unchanged in four of the six surveyed CMAs. Guelph posted the lone increase (+0.1%). Builders in Toronto, Canada's largest CMA, have not seen increases in prices in six of the previous seven months. In the neighbouring CMA of Hamilton prices fell 0.1% in December, following four months of no change.

Since the middle of 2017, there have been few price changes among surveyed CMAs in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The Fair Housing Plan introduced in April 2017 as well as mortgage rate increases are among the factors that may help explain the limited new home price movement in the region.

In Vancouver, new home buyers saw prices rise 0.2% in December. Builders cited strong demand as the main reason for the increase.

Builders in Calgary (-0.2%) reported the largest new house price decline, linking it to weak market conditions and lower negotiated selling prices.

Chart 2  Chart 2: Nationally, prices for new houses were unchanged in December, while showing limited growth in some markets.
Nationally, prices for new houses were unchanged in December, while showing limited growth in some markets.

New Housing Price Index, 12-month change

New home prices were up 3.3% year over year in December, following a similar gain in November. Vancouver (+8.9%) and London (+7.3%) had the largest 12-month increases among the surveyed CMAs.

New house prices in Toronto were up 4.7% year over year in December.

Among the five CMAs reporting declines, Saskatoon (-1.6%) recorded the largest 12-month decrease. Year over year, prices in Saskatoon have been down since September 2015. Over that time, builders reported weak market conditions and lower negotiated selling prices as reasons for the price declines.


  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 survey covers the following dwelling types: single dwellings, semi-detached houses and townhouses or row homes. The current value of the structure is independently indexed and is presented as the house series. The survey also collects contractors' estimates of the current value (evaluated at market price) of the land. These estimates are independently indexed to provide the published series for land. The index is available at the Canada and provincial levels, and for 27 metropolitan areas.

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 provincial harmonized sales tax.

The index is not subject to revision and is not seasonally adjusted.

A Historical Timeline of Canadian Producer Price Statistics

"A Historical Timeline of Canadian Producer Price Statistics," which is part of the Prices Analytical Series (Catalogue number62F0014M), was created to showcase the key milestones in the history of Canadian producer price statistics. This historical timeline contains answers to questions such as: Who collected Canada's first statistics? What do Canadian producer price indexes measure?

Infographic: Producer Price Indexes at a Glance

The infographic "Producer Price Indexes at a Glance," which is part of Statistics Canada — Infographics (Catalogue number11-627-M), demonstrates how producer price indexes for goods and services are calculated and why they are important for the Canadian economy.

Next release

The New Housing Price Index for January will be released on March 8.

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; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).

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