According to Statistics Canada, nationally, new house prices in Canada remained unchanged in April for a third consecutive month, as builders in 19 of the 27 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) surveyed reported flat or lower prices.
The largest declines were in Regina (-0.8 percent), Calgary and Victoria (each down 0.6 percent), as well as in Saskatoon (-0.5 percent). Deteriorating market conditions were the primary reason for the decreases in all four CMAs, as reported by the builders surveyed. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, new residential listings were also down in Victoria (-4.2 percent), Calgary (-3.1 percent) and Regina (-1.8 percent) in April.
Ottawa (+0.5 percent), Gatineau and London (each up 0.4 percent) reported some gains in April, tied to higher construction costs and market conditions. These CMAs continue to experience a skilled labour shortage, pushing up construction costs, which may be contributing to the higher price of new homes.
New house prices at the national level rose 0.1 percent year over year in April. The largest 12-month gains were in Ottawa (+4.1 percent), London (+3.1 percent) and Montréal (+2.5 percent).
The increase in Ottawa coincided with a shortage of residential real estate listings. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, new residential listings were down 4.6 percent year over year in April. The lack of available resale homes may also have buyers turning to the new home market.
New home prices were down 3.6 percent in Regina year over year, the largest percentage decline among the 12 CMAs reporting decreases in April. Canada's two most expensive housing markets, Vancouver (-0.6 percent) and Toronto (-0.3 percent), experienced smaller declines. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation the pace of new home construction has slowed in all three CMAs year over year, with single-family housing starts down in Regina (-35.8 percent), Toronto (-32.4 percent) and Vancouver (-15.4 percent) in April.