Sun
New home prices in Vancouver have continued to decline, Statistics Canada said Monday. Photograph by: Richard Lam, Vancouver Sun Files
New home prices fell in November for the second consecutive month-to-month with Vancouver posting a year-over-year decline of 2.3 per cent, the largest 12-month decrease since 1999, Statistics Canada said Monday.
The average price in Canada on a new house declined 0.3 per cent during the month, the federal agency said, as demand continued to cool across the country following a 0.4 per cent decline in October.
Year-to-year, new home prices increase 0.7 per cent in November, “a slower pace than the 1.5 per cent advance recorded in October and the smallest 12-month increase recorded since August 1999,” the agency said.
Yet the results varied from region to region, with some markets still witnessing considerable price increases.
In Victoria, prices were down 2.4 per cent.
The largest year-over-year increase was registered in St. John’s. N.L., up 25.6 per cent, followed by Regina, where prices were up 21.7 per cent, despite no increase during the month and in contrast to Saskatoon where prices were up only 2.7 per cent from a year earlier.
Significant 12-month declines were recorded in both Edmonton, down 7.9 per cent, the steepest drop since 1985, and Calgary down 2.5 per cent, the sharpest fall since 1991.
On the West Coast, Vancouver posted a year-over-year decline of 2.3 per cent, the largest 12-month decrease since 1999, while in Victoria, prices were down 2.4 per cent.
Markets in Eastern Canada, which have shown more stable supply-demand conditions, continued to rise, Statistics Canada said.
Compared with November 2007, contractors’ selling prices were 4.3 per cent higher in Ottawa-Gatineau and two per cent higher in Toronto and Oshawa.
In Quebec City, the 12-month growth rate was 5.4 per cent, while in Montreal prices increased 4.6 per cent, the agency said.
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
