New Housing Price Index, August 2019
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Released: 2019-10-10
August 2019
0.1% 
(monthly change)
August 2019
-0.2% 
(monthly change)
August 2019
0.0%
(monthly change)
August 2019
-0.2%
(monthly change)
August 2019
0.5%
(monthly change)
August 2019
0.9%
(monthly change)
August 2019
0.0%
(monthly change)
August 2019
0.0%
(monthly change)
August 2019
-0.2%
(monthly change)
August 2019
0.1%
(monthly change)
August 2019
0.0%
(monthly change)
Nationally, new housing prices were up 0.1% in August, the first increase since July 2018.
Chart 1
New Housing Price Index
New Housing Price Index, monthly change
Notable increases were observed in the census metropolitan areas (CMAs) of Sherbrooke (+2.1%), Montréal (+1.1%) and Trois-Rivières (+0.5%), 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%) as builders cited favourable 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%) because of unfavourable market conditions.
Chart 2
New housing prices post their first increase at the national level since July 2018
New Housing Price Index, 12-month change
New house prices at the national level were down 0.3% on a year-over-year basis in August. This was the third consecutive decline observed at the national level.
In August, Calgary (-2.2%) and Regina (-2.1%) 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%) and Calgary (-13.1%).
Ottawa (+5.5%) and Montréal (+4.3%) 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 favourable 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.
Note to readers
The New Housing Price Index (NHPI) measures changes over time in the selling prices of new 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 survey covers the following dwelling types: singles, 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 census metropolitan areas (CMAs).
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.
In addition to its monthly release, the NHPI will soon be integrated into the Residential Property Price Index (RPPI), planned for release for the first time in November 2019. The RPPI is a new quarterly series that will measure changes over time in the prices of residential properties for Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria. An aggregate for those six CMAs will also be available. The RPPI will provide, for the first time, a price index for all components of the residential real estate market—new and resale—in addition to a breakdown between houses and condominium apartments. A quarterly NHPI will be produced and disseminated as a part of the RPPI every quarter.
Products
Statistics Canada has a new interactive NHPI dashboard. This web application provides access to new housing price data for Canada and 27 census metropolitan areas (CMAs). The maps, charts and tables draw from information collected from respondents who provide information on Canada's new housing prices. The interactive dashboard allows users to visualize statistics on the monthly and annual movements of new housing prices, and on rankings by CMA of the largest monthly price movements. This web-based application is updated every month with the release of the NHPI.
The new infographic "What is happening to the prices of new houses in Canada?," which is part of the Statistics Canada — Infographics series (11-627-M), looks at recent trends in new home prices for selected CMAs surveyed.
Statistics Canada has a Housing Market Indicators dashboard. This web application provides access to key housing market indicators for Canada, by province and by CMA. These indicators are automatically updated with new information from monthly releases, giving users access to the latest data.
For more information on the topic of housing, visit the new Housing Statistics Portal.
A video titled "Producer Price Indexes" is available on the Statistics Canada Training Institute web page. It provides an introduction to Statistics Canada's producer price indexes—what they are, how they are produced and what they are used for.
Statistics Canada has launched the Producer Prices Portal as part of a suite of portals for prices and price indexes. This web page provides users with a single point of access to a wide variety of statistics and measures related to producer prices. The portal offers an array of information on topics such as manufacturing, construction, professional services, distributive trades and financial services. The portal will be continually updated as new information becomes available.
Next release
The New Housing Price Index for September will be released on November 14.
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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