The New Housing Price Index (NHPI) rose 0.2% in March compared with the previous month. Higher new house prices in Vancouver and Toronto led the gain.

New house prices were up in 10 of the 27 metropolitan areas surveyed, with the largest increases in Oshawa (+1.1%) and Guelph (+0.9%). In Oshawa, builders cited higher construction costs and improving market conditions as reasons for the gain. Builders in Guelph linked higher new house prices to improving market conditions and a shortage of developed land.

Vancouver was the top contributor to the national gain, with prices up 0.7%. Builders reported market conditions as the main source of the rise. This was the first price increase in five months and the largest since May 2016.