By Paul Vieira
OTTAWA--Canada's new-house price index was unchanged in December, even though the majority of major urban regions recorded a month-over-month decline.
Statistics Canada said Tuesday that 21 of the 27 metropolitan areas surveyed recorded a month-over-month drop in new-house prices. Nevertheless, the index remained unchanged for December relative to November.
On a 12-month basis, new-home prices fell 0.9%. The data agency noted that figures from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. indicate the national supply of completed but not sold single-family homes was nearly 40% above December 2022 levels.
The new-house price data from Statistics Canada covers single-dwelling, semi-detached and row houses. It doesn't incorporate prices for newly built condominium units.
The figures on new-home sales contrast with data on existing-home transactions via the Canadian Real Estate Association. Sales of existing homes in Canada rose 8.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis in December from the previous month, in line with some of the stronger months in 2023 in the spring and summer. On a nonadjusted basis, transactions in December were 3.7% above year-earlier levels.
Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-23-24 0907ET
