The cost of a newly-built home in August either changed very little or went down in most of Canada’s large metro areas on a year-over-year (y/y) basis.

According to Statistics Canada’s new housing price index*, only 5 out of 27 metro areas posted y/y growth above 1% (see the chart below).

Calgary led all metro areas with growth of 4.1% followed by Trois-Rivières at 3.1% and Edmonton at 2.1%.

Strong population growth and tight supply in the resale market has put upward pressure on the index in Calgary, which has risen on a year-over-year basis since November 2020.

The index in Edmonton lost ground from March 2023 to March 2024, but similar to its resale market, prices have been on the rise in recent months. Our sense is that the relatively lower price points available in Edmonton are drawing more home buyers and, in turn, supporting price growth.

Despite the recent uptick in Edmonton, its index reading is yet to surpass the peak reached in June 2022.

Averaged across the 27 metros, there was no y/y change in the national index. This comes after the index declined in 10 of the previous 12 months.

As with resale prices, it is important to note that the starting point for the price of new homes varies greatly from place to place. The median price of a new single-family/semi-detached home in Canada was $760,000 in August compared to $650,000 in Alberta, $1,930,000 in B.C. and $1,030,000 in Ontario.**

Even with prices on the rise in Calgary and Edmonton, they remain relatively less expensive than markets such as Toronto and Vancouver.

*The new housing price index (NHPI) measures the change over time in builders’ prices of newly built houses (single/semi-detached homes and townhomes). The NHPI is a monthly index available for 27 cities. To produce a constant-quality price index, the NHPI uses a matched-model approach—wherein prices for the same house models are compared over time—along with explicit quality adjustments.

**Absorbed units in Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations with at least 50,000 people.

Answer to the previous trivia question: The fall season (a.k.a. autumn) in the Northern Hemisphere is generally considered to start on the same day as the autumnal equinox.

Today’s trivia question: In what city can you find the world’s highest apartment?