The average price of buying a new home in Canada continued to climb in September, due primarily to further increases to Toronto and Winnipeg housing prices.
Canada's New Housing Price Index (NHPI) rose 0.2 per cent in September, after a 0.1 per cent advance the previous month, according to a Statistics Canada survey released on Wednesday.
The metropolitan region encompassing Toronto and Oshawa was a top contributor to the national average cost increase. Between August and September, prices in the Toronto and Oshawa area increased by 0.3 per cent.
But the largest monthly percentage increase was found further west, where Winnipeg posted an average price hike of 1.4 per cent.
Statistics Canada said Winnipeg's jump was due to material and labour costs as well as higher land values.
Halifax posted the next highest-price increase of 0.7 per cent, due to material and labour costs.
The value of new homes built in Canada has been on a steady incline since the market bottomed out in 2009 as the country fell into a recession.
Since September 2010, housing prices have increased by 2.3 per cent across the country, with the Toronto and Oshawa area (5.4 per cent) and Winnipeg (5.5 per cent) leading the way.
Housing costs across much of Canada were unchanged between August and September; eight of the 21 metropolitan regions in the survey saw no movement, while five regions saw prices drop.
The most significant monthly declines were recorded in Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton, N.B., as well as Edmonton, where prices dropped 0.3 per cent.
