MNI DATA IMPACT: Canada New Home Prices Post 1st Gain in a Yr>

By Greg Quinn and Anahita Alinejad

     OTTAWA (MNI) - Canadian new home prices posted the first monthly 

advance in a year in August, as demand stabilized in Toronto and 

Vancouver. 

     Statistics Canada's price index rose 0.1% in August from July, 

following three straight declines that marked the longest losing streak 

since 2009 around the country's last recession.

     Prices in Toronto and Vancouver, the focus of concern about a 

housing correction, were unchanged in August. Prices in July fell by the 

most in about a decade, by 0.6% in Toronto and 0.5% in Vancouver. 

     The housing market is showing signs of heating up again after being 

slowed by tougher mortgage qualification rules and warnings from policy 

makers about speculation. Buyers are also getting a break on mortgage 

rates as global bond yields plunge, allowing banks to cut what they 

charge for home loans. 

     Housing is a hot topic for Liberal Party Prime Minister Justin 

Trudeau as he campaigns for a second term in an Oct. 21 election. He and 

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer are appealing to middle-class voters 

who are struggling to buy homes that often cost a million dollars in 

Vancouver and Toronto. 

     Other cities are also starting to show strong gains. Montreal 

prices rose 1.1% on the month and 4.3% from August 2018.

     The report covers single-family homes and some semi-detached 

properties like row houses, but doesn't track condominiums that have 

been a major source of growth in Vancouver and Toronto. Statistics 

Canada today said new quarterly figures including prices for all types 

of new homes and for resales in six major cities should be ready next 

month. 

--MNI Ottawa Bureau; +1-613-314-9647; greg.quinn@marketnews.com

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