The price of a newly built home in Metro Vancouver and across BC increased again in July, according to Statistics Canada data released September 8.
The Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) new housing price index saw its growth rate accelerate, up 5.5 per cent year over year in July.
Once again, this was second only to the Toronto–Oshawa region, which saw the highest annual growth of any CMA at seven per cent.
Vancouver’s new home prices also rose 0.6 per cent compared with June 2016.
Across the province, the new housing price index was up 5.3 per cent year over year – the joint-biggest annual increase of all the provinces or territories along with Ontario. The BC price index also rose 0.6 per cent month over month.
New home prices in the Victoria CMA also saw the rate of growth steepen, rising in July by 3.6 per cent compared with the same month last year, and up 0.8 per cent over June 2016 – the highest monthly growth rate of any of the metropolitan areas surveyed.
The new home price index across Canada in July increased by 2.8 per cent year over year, with Ontario and BC’s gains continuing to be offset by price index declines in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Changes in new home prices often do not mirror those seen in the resale market, as the price paid for a new home is only measured when the transaction is completed and registered with the Land Registry, rather than when the home is originally purchased off-plan. Because of long lead times on home construction, new home prices registered today are often those homes sold many months or even years ago – whereas MLS® resale home prices are much more up to date.
To see Statistics Canada's full report and interactive tables, click here.
