Statistics Canada: New Housing Price Index, September 2024

Buyers see another month without change in new home prices

The national index remained unchanged for the second consecutive month in September. Prices were unchanged in 12 of the 27 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) surveyed, up in 8 CMAs, and down in the remaining 7.

The largest monthly declines in September were registered in Guelph and St. Catharines–Niagara

New home buyers saw month-over-month price declines of 0.5% in Guelph and 0.3% in St. Catharines–Niagara in September. Monthly price movements in both CMAs have been flat or decreasing each month in 2024 due to overall weak market conditions cited by builders surveyed. The resale market also experienced weak market conditions in these two CMAs. In Guelph, residential active listings were 16.1% higher in September 2024 than one year earlier. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, the sales-to-new-listings ratio for the resale market in Niagara was 33.5 in September, pointing to a less favourable market for sellers and thus giving more bargaining power to buyers. A ratio from 40 to 60 indicates a balanced market, while a ratio higher than 60 indicates a seller’s market and one less than 40 indicates a buyer’s market.

Québec and Kelowna had the largest rise in prices in September

In September, new home prices rose 1.1% in the Québec CMA compared with August, with builders linking the rise to a shortage of land available for development. Kelowna saw a month-over-month price increase of 0.6% in September.

New Housing Price Index, 12-month change

Nationally, the index rose 0.2% year over year in September compared with an annual decline of 1.0% in September 2023. The Bank of Canada decreased its policy interest rate again in September 2024, bringing it to 4.25%, compared with 5.0% in September 2023, which lowered the borrowing costs for home buyers.

In September 2024, the largest year-over-year increases were in the CMAs of Calgary (+4.3%) and Trois-Rivières (+3.1%).

Among the CMAs surveyed, Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (-2.8%) recorded the largest year-over-year decline in new home prices in September, followed by Ottawa (-2.6%).

Note to readers

The New Housing Price Index measures changes over time in the selling prices of new residential houses. The prices are those agreed upon between the contractor and the buyer at the time the contract is signed. The detailed specifications for each new house remain the same between two consecutive periods.

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 and the provincial harmonized sales tax.

The survey covers the following dwelling types: new single homes, semi-detached homes and townhouses (row or garden homes). The index is available at the national and provincial levels and for 27 census metropolitan areas (CMAs).

The index is not subject to revision and is not seasonally adjusted.

Products

The Technical Guide for the New Housing Price Index (NHPI) is available. This document provides details on the methodology used to calculate the NHPI.

The New Housing Price Index: Interactive Dashboard, which allows users to visualize statistics on new housing prices, is available.

The Housing Market Indicators dashboard, which provides access to key housing market indicators for Canada, by province and by census metropolitan area, is also available.

For more information on the topic of housing, visit the housing statistics portal.

The video Producer Price Indexes provides an introduction to Statistics Canada’s Producer Price Indexes—what they are, how they are compiled and what they are used for.

Statistics Canada launched the Producer Price Indexes Portal as part of a suite of portals for prices and price indexes. It provides users with a single point of access to a wide variety of statistics and measures related to producer prices.

Next release

The New Housing Price Index for October will be released on November 22, 2024.

Source: Statistics Canada