Statistics Canada reported on Wednesday the New Housing Price Index
(NHPI) dropped by 0.2 percent m-o-m in February, the same pace as in the previous month, as high
mortgage rates continued to put downward pressure on house prices.
According to the report, 13 out of the 27 census metropolitan areas
(CMAs) surveyed demonstrated declines in new home prices last month, while 12 CMAs
showed flat m-o-m performance and the remaining 2 showed gains.
St. Catharines-Niagara (-1.3 percent m-o-m) posted the largest drop,
followed by Victoria (-0.9 percent m-o-m) and Gatineau (-0.9 percent m-o-m),
with builders citing deteriorating market conditions as the reasons for the decreases.
Meanwhile, prices rose in Trois-Rivières (+0.2 percent m-o-m) and Winnipeg
(+0.1 percent m-o-m).
In y-o-y terms, the NHPI increased 1.4 percent in February, following a 2.7
percent jump in the previous month. That marked the softest annual advance in the
NHPI since June 2020 (+1.3 percent).