Statistics Canada reported on Thursday the New Housing Price Index (NHPI) climbed 1.1 percent m-o-m in March, following a 1.9 percent m-o-m gain in the previous month, as the strong demand for new houses, fueled by lower borrowing costs and work from home restrictions, continued pushing up new home prices.

Economists had forecast the NHPI to increase 1.4 percent m-o-m in March.

According to the report, new home prices increased in 23 out of the 27 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) surveyed in March, with Charlottetown (+3.4 percent m-o-m) recording the largest monthly gain in new home prices, as house prices in this area remained relatively affordable compared with other hot markets in Canada.

In y-o-y terms, NHPI surged 7.9 percent in March, following a 7.0 percent climb in the previous month. This was the largest y-o-y increase since May 2007. All 27 CMAs surveyed saw accelerated new home prices on y-o-y basis for the first time since December 2017.