New home price pace unchanged in January

Home prices increased by 0.1 per cent on a national basis in January, the same as December but slower than the 0.2 per cent that analysts were expecting. As usual the main driver of growth in the New Housing Price Index came from Vancouver (up 0.4 per cent from December) and the combined Toronto and Oshawa region (up 0.2 per cent.)

Two thirds of the metropolitan areas saw lower or unchanged prices, Statistics Canada reported, although London saw the largest month-over-month rise at 0.5 per cent; St.Catharines-Niagra saw a 0.2 per cent rise.

Prices were unchanged in 12 of the 21 metropolitan areas surveyed, including Victoria, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa–Gatineau, Montréal and Halifax.

New housing prices fell 0.3 per cent in Saskatoon and 0.2 per cent in the combined region of Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton. Builders in both areas reported lower negotiated selling prices as the main reason for the decline.

On an annual basis the NHPI increased 1.8 per cent with Toronto-Oshawa leading with a 4.4 per cent rise, followed by Vancouver (3.1 per cent) and Hamilton (2.8 per cent.)

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