Anna Barone

Canadian new home prices increase slightly in April The national index rose by 0.2% monthly in April on the strength of increases in large urban centres such as Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver. Overall, prices increased in 5 of the 27 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) surveyed, were unchanged in 15 CMAs and declined in 7. The largest price gains are reported by cities in Alberta The largest month-over-month increases in April were reported in Edmonton (+1.1%) and Calgary (+ 0.9%). Builders attributed the price gains to construction costs along with favourable market conditions. In Alberta, the rapidly growing population is fuelling demand for new housing. According to the latest population estimates of Canada, Alberta (+4.4%) recorded the fastest year-over-year rise in population in Canada in the first quarter of 2024. The largest monthly declines in April were seen in KitchenerCambridgeWaterloo (-0.4%) and Winnipeg (-0.4%), where builders linked the decreases to weak market conditions. National new home prices edge down year over year in April Nationally, the prices of new homes edged down (-0.1%) in April compared with the same month last year. This was less than the year-over-year decline seen in March 2024 (-0.4%). The largest year-over-year declines in April were registered in Ottawa (-4.4%) and Saskatoon (-2.5%), while the largest increases were in Calgary (+3.9%), Vancouver (+1.3%) and Qubec (+1.2%). https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/240523/dq240523c-eng.htm