New Home Prices Continue to Climb

New home prices in Ottawa-Gatineau continue to move up, but at a pace far below other major cities.

Statistics Canada says good demand drove up the average price of a new home by 0.6 % in May, and pushed the annual rate to 3.3 %. Increased costs associated with moving into new phases were another factor in the local market.

One again, the hottest housing markets in the country are Calgary and Edmonton.

In Calgary, new home prices jumped 5.4 % in May, pushing the annual increase to 41.3 %, In the Alberta capital, prices jumped 5.3 % in May alone, and the annual increase stood at 24.4 %.

Statscan said high demand for new housing, higher material and labour costs and increased land values were cited as the main reasons for the increases. High fuel costs, which affected transportation costs, were also cited as a factor in the Calgary and Edmonton markets.

Across the country, new home prices advanced in 16 of the 21 metropolitan areas surveyed. Compared to last year, contractor's prices have risen on average 9.1 %.