New Housing Price Index, April 2017
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Released: 2017-06-08
April 2017
0.8% 
(monthly change)
April 2017
0.0%
(monthly change)
April 2017
0.0%
(monthly change)
April 2017
-0.2% 
(monthly change)
April 2017
0.0%
(monthly change)
April 2017
0.1%
(monthly change)
April 2017
1.6%
(monthly change)
April 2017
0.8%
(monthly change)
April 2017
0.0%
(monthly change)
April 2017
-0.1%
(monthly change)
April 2017
1.0%
(monthly change)
Buyers of new homes in Canada saw prices rise 0.8% in April, the largest monthly increase since May 2016. Higher prices in Toronto and Vancouver led the gain.
Chart 1
New Housing Price Index
New Housing Price Index, monthly change
Toronto (+2.1%) and several surrounding census metropolitan areas (CMAs) in Ontario posted the largest gains of the 13 CMAs with price increases in April. Builders in Toronto tied the rise to favourable market conditions and a shortage of developed land.
Builders in London cited improved market conditions, higher construction costs and a shortage of developed land as reasons for the 2.0% increase in new house prices.
In St. Catharines–Niagara (+1.8%) and Oshawa (+1.4%), builders linked higher prices to market conditions. Builders in Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo (+1.5%) reported price increases due to higher construction costs.
New house prices in Vancouver (+1.2%) rose for a second consecutive month. The increase reflected market conditions, higher construction costs and new phases of development.
Prices were down in two metropolitan areas—Halifax and Edmonton both posted 0.2% declines—and were unchanged in 12.
New Housing Price Index, 12-month change
New house prices in Canada increased 3.9% over the 12-month period ending in April. The national rise was the largest since May 2008 and was led by the increase in Toronto (+9.9%).
Chart 2
The metropolitan region of Toronto posts the highest year-over-year price increase
St. Catharines–Niagara (+7.2%), Windsor (+6.5%) and Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo (+6.4%) also posted notable year-over-year increases.
Declines were recorded for six metropolitan areas, with St. John's (-0.7%) and Edmonton (-0.6%) posting the largest decreases. Year over year, prices for all surveyed metropolitan areas in Alberta and Saskatchewan were down for an eighth consecutive month.
In celebration of the country's 150th birthday, Statistics Canada is presenting snapshots from our rich statistical history.
We take a look back at new residential construction by dwelling type since Canada's centennial in 1967, based on housing completions data from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
From 1967 to 2016, 6.2 million single, semi-detached and row houses were built in Canada, accounting for 67% of all new residential units constructed. New apartment and other unit types made up the remaining 33% of additions to Canada's housing stock.
Over this period, more single, semi-detached and row house units were built than apartment and other units in all provinces. Newfoundland and Labrador had the largest share (87%) of newly constructed units from single, semi-detached and row houses, while the share in Quebec for the same dwelling types was 56%.
Toronto and Vancouver accounted for 32% of the 3.1 million new apartment and other unit types built in Canada over the last 50 years.
Source: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) housing completions data, available on CANSIM in tables 027-0009 and 027-0049. For more information on any of the terms used in this analysis, please see CMHC's web page Starts & Completions Survey Methodology.
Chart 3
Housing completions 1967 - 2016
Note to readers
The New Housing Price Index (NHPI) 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 changes in the selling prices of new houses where detailed specifications pertaining to each house remain the same between two consecutive periods.
The survey covers the following dwelling types: single dwellings, semi-detached houses and townhouses or row homes. The current value of the structure is independently indexed and is presented as the house series. The survey also collects contractors' estimates of the current value (evaluated at market price) of the land. These estimates are independently indexed to provide the published series for land. The index is available at the Canada and provincial levels, and for 27 metropolitan areas.
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 provincial harmonized sales tax.
The index is not subject to revision and is not seasonally adjusted.
Changes to the New Housing Price Index
With the release of the January 2017 NHPI data, a number of important changes were introduced to increase the relevance of the index series. The NHPI basket was updated with new weights for the 2017 series and its coverage was expanded to include four new census metropolitan areas: Kelowna, British Columbia; Guelph, Ontario; Trois-Rivières, Quebec; and Sherbrooke, Quebec. The weights used for the 2017 series are based on a price-adjusted three-year average of the value of building completions for each metropolitan area for 2014 to 2016.
Data for periods prior to January 2017 were obtained by linking the new NHPI series, where possible, with indexes in CANSIM table 327-0046.
Separate series are now published for Toronto, Oshawa, Ottawa-Gatineau (Ontario part), Ottawa-Gatineau (Quebec part) and Greater Sudbury. The new indexes for Toronto, Ottawa and Greater Sudbury are linked to those previously published for the following combined cities: Toronto-Oshawa; Ottawa-Gatineau (Ontario/Quebec); and Greater Sudbury and Thunder Bay respectively. A combined Toronto-Oshawa index is available to users upon request for reference year 2017. Thunder Bay is no longer included in the NHPI.
The index base period, for which the NHPI equals 100, is now December 2016.
CANSIM tables 327-0046 and 327-0050 have been archived and replaced by tables 327-0056 and 327-0057, respectively.
Infographic: Producer Price Indexes at a Glance
The infographic "Producer Price Indexes at a Glance," part of Statistics Canada — Infographics (11-627-M), demonstrates how producer price indexes for goods and services are calculated and why they are important for the Canadian economy.
Next release
The NHPI for May will be released on July 13.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).
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