Canada new home prices edge up in Nov, lifted by Ottawa

FILE PHOTO: A family passes a house for sale on Mount Pleasant Road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on August 6, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo

Canadian new home prices edged up in November, boosted by gains in Ottawa even as prices were unchanged in a number of other markets, including the major city of Toronto, data from Statistics Canada showed on Thursday.

The 0.1 percent increase from October was shy of economists’ expectations for a 0.2 percent gain. The new housing price index excludes apartments and condominiums.

Ottawa, the country’s capital, led the way with a 0.5 percent increase in prices as builders cited improved market conditions.

In Toronto, prices stalled for the fifth time in six months. Compared to a year ago, prices were up 4.7 percent, down from the year-over-year peak of 9.9 percent in April 2017, when the provincial government announced a number measures to cool the market in the city and surrounding area.

Toronto home sales tumbled in 2017 in the wake of the Ontario rules, though the pace of sales picked up near the end of the year ahead of tighter mortgage rules that came into force at the start of 2018.

Prices were also unchanged on the month in Vancouver, Canada’s most expensive market. Overall, monthly prices were up in 12 metropolitan areas surveyed, while three were down and 12 were unchanged.