Canada October New House Price Index Report (Text)
The following is the text of the new house price index report for October released by Statistics Canada.
The New Housing Price Index (NHPI) rose 0.2% in October, following a similar increase in September.
Evolution of the New Housing Price Index
The metropolitan regions of Toronto and Oshawa, and Edmonton were the top contributors to the increase in October. The positive impact of these metropolitan regions on the overall index was offset in part by decreases observed in Vancouver and Victoria.
Between September and October, Edmonton (+0.6%) posted the largest monthly price advance, followed by Toronto and Oshawa (+0.4%).
In Edmonton, price increases were primarily the result of higher material and labour costs as well as higher land values. In Toronto and Oshawa, some builders cited good market conditions as the main reason for their price increases.
In October, prices were unchanged in 9 of the 21 metropolitan regions surveyed.
The most significant monthly price declines were recorded in Victoria (-0.6%) and Saskatoon (-0.3%).
Some builders in Victoria reported that the primary reason for their price decreases was having lowered their prices to stimulate sales.
In Saskatoon, a few builders reported reducing their prices because of slower market conditions. These reductions were partially offset by increases in material costs.
Year over year, the NHPI was up 2.5% in October. The main contributor to this advance was the metropolitan region of Toronto and Oshawa.
The largest year-over-year price increases were in Toronto and Oshawa, and in Winnipeg (both up 5.6%).
Toronto and Oshawa, and Winnipeg post the highest year-over-year price increases
Compared with October 2010, contractors’ selling prices were also higher in Regina (+5.1%) and St. John’s (+4.1%).
Among the 21 metropolitan regions surveyed, 4 posted 12-month price declines in October, led by Windsor (-3.3%) and Victoria (- 1.9%).
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.
To contact the reporter on this story: Ilan Kolet in Ottawa at ikolet@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Marco Babic at mbabic@bloomberg.net
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