According to Statistics Canada, 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 percent. 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 percent) and London (+0.5 percent). 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.
New house prices rose 3.2 percent year over year in January. Vancouver (+9.0 percent) and London (+6.8 percent) 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 percent) and London (+9.7 percent) in 2017 compared with 2016.
House prices in Toronto (+4.4 percent) 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 percent) recorded the largest 12-month decrease.