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Fourth Quarter 2008
- The New Housing Price Index (1997=100) declined 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2008, down from the previous increase of 0.1%. Increases were seen in the Atlantic Region (+1.2%), and Quebec (+0.6%). British Columbia (-2.3%), the Prairie Region (-1.6%) and Ontario (-0.1%) all registered decreases. This was the first decrease reported for Ontario since the third quarter of 1996.
- The composite price index for non-residential building construction decreased 2.8% in the fourth quarter to 151.5 (2002=100) compared with the previous quarter. The quarterly decrease was mostly the result of the decline in construction material prices and a weakening of the non-residential building construction market. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2007, the composite price index for non-residential building construction was up 8.2%.
- The Machinery and Equipment Price Index (MEPI) stood at 99.1 (1997=100) in the fourth quarter, up 11.7% from the third quarter of 2008. The import component index rose 17.9%, while the domestic index increased by 1.4%. Compared with the fourth quarter of 2007, the total MEPI was up 18.1%, with the import index increasing by 27.9%, while the domestic index rose by 3.3%.
- The Electric utility construction price index distribution systems component increased by 0.9% during 2008. The increase in the materials component (+1.5%) in 2008 was the major contributor to this rise in the index. Construction costs for the transmission line system series rose 3.7% compared with a 4.7% increase for 2007.
