The New Housing Price Index (NHPI) rose 0.2% in September, following a 0.1% advance in August. The metropolitan region of Toronto and Oshawa was the top contributor to the increase in September. Between August and September, Winnipeg (+1.4%) posted the largest monthly price advance, followed by Halifax (+0.7%). In Winnipeg, price increases were primarily the result of higher material and labour costs as well as higher land values. Builders in Halifax cited higher material and labour costs as the main reason for their price increases.
In September, prices remained unchanged in 8 of the 21 metropolitan regions surveyed. The most significant monthly price declines were recorded in the aggregated metropolitan regions of Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton as well as in Edmonton (both down 0.3%). Some builders in Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton cited slower market conditions as the primary reason for their price decreases, while a few builders in Edmonton moved to new development areas with lower priced lots.
Year over year, the NHPI was up 2.3% in September following similar increases in July and August. The main contributor to the advance in September was the metropolitan region of Toronto and Oshawa. The largest year-over-year price increases were in Winnipeg (+5.5%), as well as in Toronto and Oshawa (+5.4%). The New Housing Price Index measures changes over time in the selling prices of new residential houses agreed upon between the contractor and the buyer at the time of the signing of the contract. It is designed to measure the changes in the selling prices of new houses where detailed specifications pertaining to each house remain the same between two consecutive periods. The prices collected from builders and included in the index are market selling prices less value added taxes, such as the Federal Goods and Services Tax or the Harmonized Sales Tax.