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New Housing Price Index, August 2017

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Released: 2017-10-12

New Housing Price Index — Canada

August 2017

0.1% increase

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — N.L.

August 2017

-0.5% decrease

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — P.E.I.

August 2017

0.0%

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — N.S.

August 2017

-0.1% decrease

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — N.B.

August 2017

0.0%

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — Que.

August 2017

0.0%

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — Ont.

August 2017

0.1% increase

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — Man.

August 2017

0.3% increase

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — Sask.

August 2017

0.1% increase

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — Alta.

August 2017

0.0%

(monthly change)

New Housing Price Index — B.C.

August 2017

0.1% increase

(monthly change)

Despite growth in some markets, Canadians saw little overall change in new home prices in August.

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

New Housing Price Index, monthly change

Prices for new homes were unchanged in 15 of the 27 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) surveyed, including what have been Canada's two hottest housing markets—Toronto and Vancouver. For Toronto, this was the third consecutive month of flatness. In Vancouver, this was the first month of no price change, following five consecutive monthly increases.

Nationally, new home prices edged up 0.1% in August, primarily reflecting increases in the CMAs of London (+1.0%), Kelowna (+0.9%) and Ottawa–Gatineau, Ontario part (+0.4%). Builders in all three CMAs tied the rise to improved market conditions. In Ottawa–Gatineau, new phases of development also contributed to higher prices.

Prices were down in St. John's (-0.5%), Sherbrooke (-0.2%) and Halifax (-0.1%).

Chart 2  Chart 2: Canadians saw little overall change in new home prices
Canadians saw little overall change in new home prices

New Housing Price Index, 12-month change

New house prices in Canada rose 3.8% year-over-year in August.

London saw a 12-month price gain of 8.1%, the largest for this metropolitan area since February 1990.

Vancouver's (+7.8%) year-over-year increase matched the previous month.

In Toronto, the 12-month change (+6.7%) was down from this year's peak in April (+9.9%).

Declines were recorded in three CMAs, with St. John's (-0.9%) posting the largest decrease.

Telling Canada's story in numbers; #ByTheNumbers

In celebration of the country's 150th birthday, Statistics Canada is presenting snapshots from our rich statistical history.

To curb rising inflation, the Bank of Canada raised interest rates significantly in the early 1980s. Mortgage rates rose to just above 21% in 1981, rendering new home purchases unaffordable for many Canadians and launching a long period of decline in new house prices. The New Housing Price Index (NHPI) reached its lowest point ever in May 1983, down 7.6% from July 1981. This period was punctuated by a stretch of 10 consecutive month-over-month declines. The NHPI did not resume an upward trend until the end of 1984.

Chart 3  Chart 3: Mortgage lending rate peaked in September 1981
Mortgage lending rate peaked in September 1981

Chart 4  Chart 4: New Housing Price Index in the early 1980s
New Housing Price Index in the early 1980s


  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

To celebrate Canada 150, "A Historical Timeline of Canadian Producer Price Statistics," part of Statistics Canada — Infographics (Catalogue number11-627-M), 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," 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 September will be released on November 9.

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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