Province
OTTAWA — Canadian new housing prices increased at their slowest pace in more than a year in May, led by Saskatchewan and Alberta, yet were still above most analyst expectations.
Statistics Canada reported yesterday that selling prices in May were up 8.6 per cent from May 2006, slightly slower than the 8.9 per cent year-over-year gain in April and continuing a deceleration trend that began last September.
“It was the slowest increase since April 2006,” said the agency. “However, May still marked the 14th consecutive month of year-over-year increases above eight per cent.”
On a monthly basis, new housing prices were up 1.1 per cent from April. Analysts had looked for a 0.6-per-cent month-over-month hike.
Increases in housing prices in Saskatchewan (30.7 per cent) and Alberta (27.9 per cent) accounted for most of the year-over-year increase in May, the agency said.
Between May 2006 and May 2007, prices rose 8.8 per cent in Vancouver and 0.3 per cent in Victoria, the only B.C. communities listed in the report.