Canada's New Housing Price Index (NHPI) rose 0.1% in July, following a 0.2% increase in June, according to data released by Statistics Canada, a Canadian federal government agency.
The metropolitan region of Calgary was the top contributor to the advance. Some builders reported that increased material and labor costs were the main reason for higher prices.
On a year-over-year basis, the NHPI rose 2.3% in the 12 month-period period leading up to July, following a similar year-over-year increase the previous month. The main contributor to the advance was the combined metropolitan regions of Toronto and Oshawa.
Prices were unchanged in six of the 21 metropolitan Canadian regions surveyed in July. Four metropolitan regions posted 12-month price declines in July, with the largest decrease in Victoria (-2.9%). The largest year-over-year increases in contractors' selling prices occurred in Regina (4.7%), Toronto and Oshawa (4.6%) and Winnipeg (4.4%).
The largest monthly price advance in July occurred in the metropolitan region of St. John's (0.6%), followed by St. Catharines-Niagara and Halifax (both up 0.4%). In St. John's and St. Catharines-Niagara, the increase was primarily the result of higher material and labor costs, while the Halifax market increase was attributed to market conditions.
Monthly prices declined 0.3% in Windsor as a result of lower negotiated prices. Prices fell 0.2% in the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo market, as well as in Victoria, as some builders recorded lower negotiated selling prices.