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New home prices weaken in Canada
1 H- P- _% S' MCanwest News Service/ @( K J; C% b0 j7 o6 f
Published: 7:48 am
: ?* a5 Z+ u; E3 K. qOTTAWA - Prices for new homes in Canada rose by 5.2 per cent in April from a year earlier, the slowest pace in more than two and a half years as a weakening Alberta market continued to pull down the national average, Statistics Canada said Wednesday.
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1 d. Q; }) M1 I& V- Q% S9 EApril's rate was down from a 6.1 per cent year-on-year increase in March, the federal agency said. On a monthly basis, prices were unchanged in April from March.
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"This was the third consecutive month in which the increase has decelerated, and the slowest rate of growth since September 2005, when year-over-year prices rose by 4.9 per cent," it said.$ Q# o' K h$ w! V
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In contrast to strong markets in Saskatchewan and parts of Atlantic Canada, home prices in oil-rich Alberta showed more signs of cooling. 5 m6 r6 @# C, o9 T9 H7 y" G$ S! e5 t
$ c$ O2 a, [# A"Edmonton and Calgary continued to experience slow market conditions," Statistics Canada said. "Competition among builders has resulted in lower prices being offered to prospective homebuyers."
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Prices in Calgary edged up 2.5 per cent in April from a year earlier, compared to a 5.3 per cent year-over-year increase in March., K4 |% _; a2 S3 E( v
$ A" d4 ]6 u7 q, K7 _In Edmonton, the year-on-year rate slowed to 8.1 per cent - the ninth straight month of decelerated growth.
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! K& t4 Y' x8 _2 l% wMeanwhile, the Saskatchewan housing market continued to heat up in April. Prices in Saskatoon led the country for the 12th straight month, jumping 43.7 per cent from a year earlier - but down slightly from a 46.2 per cent year-on-year gain in March." l/ j( s2 g2 I( f& ?
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Prices in Regina were up 34 per cent in April from the same time in 2007, compared to a 27.8 per year-on-year increase in March.
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6 t! J! o8 V. J' s9 E$ c& W( K; }5 ?In Newfoundland and Labrador "a strengthening economy, coupled with increased material and labour costs, has contributed to record increases," Statistics Canada said.1 S! r- D, e# v* ]1 S' ~0 L% d
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Prices in St. John's rose 16.3 per cent in April, up from the year-over-year increase of 12 per cent in March.% }5 F. H3 ?( v( V. q
% O+ c4 F8 O3 A; aNova Scotia also saw strong gains, with prices in Halifax increasing 11.3 per cent from a year earlier, although that was down slightly from a record year-on-year gain 12.8 per cent in March.& S1 A9 J1 a! k k$ ]' B) u
7 J! g; w9 B3 h"The report adds to the growing body of evidence that indicates that the Canadian housing sector may be coming off the boil," said Millan Mulraine, economics strategist at TD Securities. t/ D5 O1 v: s) e1 K$ x( T
0 c- e( Z" t* @# \5 {"Similar behaviour has also been observed in the price of existing homes. However, it is important to note that the Canadian housing sector remains in reasonable shape and a U.S.-style correction in home prices remains highly unlikely.": h2 _* A( i5 _3 `4 @
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© Canwest News Service 2008 |
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