New home prices across Canada increased by 1.9 per cent from January 2010 to January 2011, but in Metro Vancouver the increase was just 0.2 per cent and in Victoria prices fell by one per cent, Statistics Canada reported today.
The data gathering agency reported that prices increased the most in the metropolitan regions of Toronto and Oshawa, Montréal and Ottawa–Gatineau.
In Western Canada, Regina, Calgary and Edmonton price increases all exceeded Vancouver's increase.
Nationally, prices were up 0.2 per cent during the month, compared to a 0.1 per cent advance in December, the federal agency said, with no change during the month in Vancouver and Victoria. Year-on-year, prices rose 1.9 per cent in January. Both readings were roughly in line with economists' forecasts.
Recent data have pointed to a slowdown in Canada's housing market. On Tuesday, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said new home construction rose 6.6 per cent in February, but economists have cautioned that those gains are unlikely to be matched in the coming months.
"Land prices have gone nowhere in the past three years after big gains in the previous three, suggesting speculators are largely absent from the market," said BMO Capital Markets economist Sal Guatieri. Ravi benjamin
Along with tighter mortgage rules — including shorter amortizations — that come into effect March 18, higher interest rates, lower affordability and elevated household debt, "should keep house prices on a tight leash," BMO said in a report last week.
This week, Statistics Canada reported that the value of building permits unexpectedly fell 5.1 per cent to $5.4 billion in January, following a gain of 2.6 per cent in December, due to weaker residential and non-residential activity.
As well, a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. report released this week concluded that housing starts in B.C. were down in February, although they rose in Metro Vancouver.
Still, a Royal Bank of Canada survey released Wednesday showed 90 per cent of Canadians are confident in the country's real estate market. Almost three-quarters of respondents in the RBC poll said they are well positioned to withstand a decline in the housing market.
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/home+prices+Canada+Metro+Vancouver+rise+slightly+January/4412567/story.html#ixzz1GSNwZYED
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