Ottawa was the only market with notable growth in new House Prices in October. The national figure was moderated by unchanged prices in more than half of the surveyed cities.

New Housing Price Index, monthly change

Prices for new homes in Ottawa rose 1.0% in October compared with a national average of 0.1%. Builders in Ottawa linked the monthly gain to improved market conditions and new phases of development. For row, single and semi-detached houses, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that year-to-date housing starts were 7.6% higher for Ottawa in October compared with the same period in 2016.

In Vancouver, new home buyers paid 0.3% more in October. Prices for new homes in Toronto edged up 0.1% after four consecutive months of no change.

New house prices were unchanged in 15 of 27 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) surveyed. Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo (-0.1%) recorded the lone decrease in October—its first since July 2015.

New Housing Price Index, 12-month change

In October, new house prices in Canada rose 3.5% year over year, down from this year’s largest increase of 3.9%.

Vancouver (+8.4%) and London (+8.1%) had the largest 12-month increases among the surveyed CMAs.

New home prices in Ottawa rose 4.6% in October—the largest year-over-year increase for this city since November 2010.

Among the four CMAs reporting price declines, St. John’s (-1.1%) recorded the largest year-over-year decrease for the third consecutive month.

StatsCanada