StatsCan - New Housing Price Index
New Housing Price Index
August 2003
The New Housing Price Index (1997=100) advanced 0.5% in August, after two consecutive 0.3% increases in June and July. On a 12-month basis, this index of contractors' selling prices rose 4.7%, unchanged from July's annual increase.
New Housing Price Indexes
(1997=100)
August 2003 August 2002 to August 2003 July to August 2003
% change
Canada total 117.3 4.7 0.5
House only
123.8 6.1 0.7
Land only
105.2 1.4 0.3
St.John's 112.6 3.8 0.4
Halifax 119.7 4.3 0.0
Charlottetown 105.1 0.3 0.0
Saint John-Moncton-Fredericton 103.7 3.0 0.6
Québec 122.8 9.3 1.7
Montréal 127.5 7.1 1.4
Ottawa-Gatineau 137.7 2.2 0.0
Toronto 120.5 5.1 0.7
Hamilton 122.6 7.0 0.9
St. Catharines-Niagara 121.8 5.4 0.7
Kitchener-Waterloo 120.3 2.4 0.3
London 115.3 5.1 0.0
Windsor 102.1 0.0 0.0
Sudbury-Thunder Bay 96.4 0.7 0.3
Winnipeg 114.2 3.6 0.0
Regina 126.0 5.5 0.8
Saskatoon 114.4 3.3 0.9
Calgary 131.0 4.4 0.2
Edmonton 123.3 3.9 0.1
Vancouver 96.5 3.5 -0.2
Victoria 98.1 8.4 1.3
Monthly rises occurred in 14 of the 21 urban centres surveyed. Of the centres with the strongest growth, Québec led the way with an increase of 1.7%, followed by Montréal (+1.4%) and Victoria (+1.3%). Home builders in these areas cited higher prices for building materials, labour and land. Significant increases were observed in Hamilton (+0.9%), Saskatoon (+0.9%), Regina (+0.8%), Toronto (+0.7%), St. Catharines-Niagara (+0.7%) and Saint John-Moncton-Fredericton (+0.6%), mostly the result of increased material and labour costs. Higher land values were noted in Hamilton and Regina.
Elsewhere, new house prices rose in St. John's (+0.4%), Kitchener-Waterloo (+0.3%), Sudbury-Thunder Bay (+0.3%) and Calgary (+0.2%). The index was up slightly in Edmonton (+0.1%).
Six of the surveyed centres registered no change and the only decrease was registered in Vancouver (-0.2%) where some builders quoted lower house prices as a result of competitive factors.
For the sixth consecutive month, Québec (+9.3%) posted the largest 12-month increase for new homes. Victoria was next with an increase of 8.4%, followed by Montréal (+7.1%). There were no annual decreases.
Available on CANSIM: table 327-0005.
Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 2310.
The third quarter 2003 issue of Capital expenditure price statistics (62-007-XPB, $26/$85) will be available in January.
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Perry Kirkpatrick (613-951-9606, fax: 613-951-1539;
infounit@statcan.ca) or Susan Morris (613-951-2035;
morrsus@statcan.ca), Prices Division.
http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031009/d031009b.htm