The New Housing Price Index (NHPI) rose 0.1% in July, following a 0.3% advance in June.
Figures released this morning by Statitics Canada also say the metropolitan region of Toronto and Oshawa was the top contributor to the increase in July.
Between June and July, say the nation's number crunchers, Charlottetown (+1.3%) posted the largest increase followed by Toronto and Oshawa (+0.4%).
In Charlottetown, the price increases were primarily the result of some builders re-evaluating their current prices and others moving to new phases of development. Builders in the metropolitan region of Toronto and Oshawa cited good market conditions as the main reason for the price increase.
In July, prices remained unchanged in six of the 21 metropolitan regions surveyed.
The most significant monthly price decline was recorded in Calgary (-0.5%), as some builders offered free upgrade packages and promotional pricing to generate sales.
Year over year, the NHPI was up 2.3% in July following a 2.1% increase in June. The main contributors to the advance in July were the metropolitan regions of Toronto and Oshawa as well as Montreal.
The agency also pegs the largest year-over-year price increase as being in Toronto and Oshawa (+5.2%) followed by Winnipeg (+4.3%).
Compared with July 2010, contractors' selling prices were also higher in St. John's (+4.1%), Regina (+3.9%), Montreal (+3.3%) and Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (+3.1%).
Among the 21 metropolitan regions surveyed, five posted 12-month price declines in July, led by Windsor (-2.7%) and Victoria (-1.6%).
