The prices for new homes in the Calgary census metropolitan area are falling.
On Thursday, Statistics Canada reported that prices were down in the Calgary region 0.6 per cent in April from March and they were off 1.1 per cent from a year ago.
In the Edmonton census metropolitan area, prices were flat in April but down 0.6 per cent year over year.
Nationally, the federal agency said builders in 19 of the 27 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) surveyed reported flat or lower prices.
“The largest declines were in Regina (-0.8 per cent), Calgary and Victoria (each down 0.6 per cent), as well as in Saskatoon (-0.5 per cent). Deteriorating market conditions were the primary reason for the decreases in all four CMAs, as reported by the builders surveyed. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, new residential listings were also down in Victoria (-4.2 per cent), Calgary (-3.1 per cent) and Regina (-1.8 per cent) in April,” it said.
“New home prices in Vancouver (-0.2 per cent) and Toronto (-0.1 per cent) were also down in April, with declines linked primarily to lower negotiated selling prices and market conditions. Ottawa (+0.5 per cent), Gatineau and London (each up 0.4 per cent) reported some gains in April, tied to higher construction costs and market conditions. These CMAs continue to experience a skilled labour shortage, pushing up construction costs, which may be contributing to the higher price of new homes.”
Across Canada, new house prices were up 0.1 per cent year over year in April.
StatsCan said the largest 12-month gains were in Ottawa (+4.1 per cent), London (+3.1 per cent) and Montréal (+2.5 per cent).
“New home prices were down 3.6 per cent in Regina year over year, the largest percentage decline among the 12 CMAs reporting decreases in April. Canada’s two most expensive housing markets, Vancouver (-0.6 per cent) and Toronto (-0.3 per cent), experienced smaller declines. According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., the pace of new home construction has slowed in all three CMAs year over year, with single-family housing starts down in Regina (-35.8 per cent), Toronto (-32.4 per cent) and Vancouver (-15.4 per cent) in April,” added Statistics Canada.
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