A jump in the prices of new homes in the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) led the nation’s overall increase in October, according to Statistics Canada data released December 11.
Vancouver CMA posted a month-over-month increase in prices of 0.4 per cent compared with September 2014 – the largest increase in the country and the biggest monthly jump for Vancouver since April 2010. Nationwide, new home prices increased month over month by 0.1 per cent.
Local builders cited higher material costs as the key reason for the increase in Vancouver’s new home prices.
The Globe and Mail reported December 8 that an interim duty has been applied to Canadian imports of steel rebar from China, South Korea and Turkey, which for Polygon Developments is pushing up the average cost of a new condo by $5,000. US rebar imports are not targeted in this trade dispute.
Despite this increase, the price of new homes in the Vancouver CMA has still fallen when compared with October 2013, down 0.6 per cent year over year.
These results follow the trend of the last few months as prices have fallen year over year every month.
To see Statistics Canada’s interactive chart, click here.
