New Housing Price Index, January 2018
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Released: 2018-03-08
January 2018
0.0%
(monthly change)
January 2018
0.0%
(monthly change)
January 2018
0.0%
(monthly change)
January 2018
0.0%
(monthly change)
January 2018
0.2% 
(monthly change)
January 2018
0.3%
(monthly change)
January 2018
0.1%
(monthly change)
January 2018
0.0%
(monthly change)
January 2018
0.0%
(monthly change)
January 2018
0.0%
(monthly change)
January 2018
0.0%
(monthly change)
Nationally, new house prices were unchanged for a second consecutive month.
Chart 1
New Housing Price Index
New Housing Price Index, monthly change
In January, builders in 16 of the 27 surveyed census metropolitan areas (CMAs) across Canada reported no change in new home prices, including all three surveyed CMAs in British Columbia.
Weakness in the Toronto housing market continued in January, as new home prices declined 0.1%. This was the first decrease for this CMA since July 2014.
Among the nine CMAs where new house prices rose, the largest increases were recorded in Montréal (+0.5%) and London (+0.5%). Builders in both CMAs linked the gain to higher construction costs and improving market conditions.
A new minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages (Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions) and further increases to mortgage rates by Canadian lenders in January may have contributed to the limited price change in many of the surveyed housing markets.
Chart 2
Nationally, new house prices were unchanged for a second consecutive month
New Housing Price Index, 12-month change
New house prices rose 3.2% year over year in January. Vancouver (+9.0%) and London (+6.8%) had the largest 12-month gain. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, completions for row, single and semi-detached houses increased in Vancouver (+8.8%) and London (+9.7%) in 2017 compared with 2016.
House prices in Toronto (+4.4%) were up year over year in January, but all of that increase came in the first half of 2017.
Among the four CMAs reporting declines, Saskatoon (-1.5%) recorded the largest 12-month decrease.
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 (62F0014M), 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 (11-627-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 February will be released on April 12.
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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