According to Statistics Canada, Canadian new housing prices were up 0.1 percent nationally in August, the first increase since July 2018.
Notable increases were observed in the census metropolitan areas (CMAs) of Sherbrooke (+2.1 percent), Montréal (+1.1 percent) and Trois-Rivières (+0.5 percent), with higher construction costs as the primary reason for the rise in all three CMAs.
New house prices were up in Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo (+1.5 percent) as builders cited favorable market conditions and higher land prices. The growing technology sector and more affordable housing prices relative to Toronto may have contributed to demand in the region.
In August, the price of new homes declined in Oshawa and St. Catharines–Niagara (both down 0.4 percent) because of unfavorable market conditions.
New house prices at the national level were down 0.3 percent on a year-over-year basis in August. This was the third consecutive decline observed at the national level.
In August, Calgary (-2.2 percent) and Regina (-2.1 percent) posted the largest year-over-year declines in new house prices for the third month in a row. Elevated housing inventory levels continued to affect new house prices in both CMAs. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that single-family housing starts declined year over year in August in both Regina (-40.4 percent) and Calgary (-13.1 percent).
Ottawa (+5.5 percent) and Montréal (+4.3 percent) saw the largest year-over-year increases in August. New house prices have been rising since July 2015 in Montréal and since May 2016 in Ottawa, mostly because of favorable market conditions and higher construction costs. Out of the 27 CMAs surveyed, Ottawa has been recording the largest year-over-year increases in new house prices since May 2018.