Regional differences emerge as housing market steadies overall
The New Housing Price Index (NHPI) experienced a minor decline of 0.1% in December 2024 compared to November, Statistics Canada reported. This decrease in new home prices was recorded across seven of the 27 surveyed census metropolitan areas (CMAs), while prices in 13 CMAs remained steady and increased in the remaining seven.
Greater Sudbury led the monthly declines with a 0.7% drop, followed by Calgary and Toronto, both recording a 0.4% decrease. These reductions were attributed to builders offering more incentives and negotiating lower prices to attract buyers.
Conversely, the combined region of Saint John, Fredericton, and Moncton saw the largest monthly increase at 0.6%. Other CMAs, such as Montréal and Edmonton, also recorded modest monthly growth of 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively.
On an annual basis, the NHPI rose by 0.1% in December 2024 compared to December 2023. Calgary and Québec showed the strongest growth at 3.9% and 3.8%, respectively. In contrast, Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo and Ottawa saw the sharpest annual declines at 1.4% each. The increased inventory of completed and unsold single-family homes in these areas contributed to the downward pressure on prices, the report noted.
The NHPI reflects changes in the market selling prices of new homes, excluding taxes such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). While the index remained stable for land prices on a national level, house prices themselves edged down slightly by 0.1% in December.
Despite the overall stability of the market, regional disparities remain evident. Western Canada showed mixed performance, with Calgary recording annual price gains while Vancouver experienced a 0.7% annual decline. Similarly, Ontario cities such as Toronto and London registered annual drops of 1.3%.
Builder incentives, rising inventories, and regional economic factors have shaped the performance of various CMAs. For example, Ottawa and Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo experienced increased inventories of unsold homes, with year-over-year increases of 54.7% and 166.7%, respectively, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
The NHPI will release its next report for January 2025 on February 20.
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