New house prices advance in April

Statistics Canada says its new housing price index rose 0.2 per cent in April, following a 0.3 per cent increase in March.

On a year-over-year, the index was up 2.5 per cent in April, following a 2.6 increase in March.

The agency says the metropolitan regions of Toronto, Oshawa, Ont., and Edmonton were the main contributors to the March to April increase,

In Toronto and Oshawa, the rise in prices was predominantly due to good market conditions, while Edmonton, builders returned to list prices after reporting promotional pricing and lower negotiated selling prices in previous months.

In April, prices were unchanged in seven of the 21 metropolitan regions surveyed.

St. John's, N.L., St. Catharines—Niagara and Windsor, Ont. all reported price declines of about 0.1 per cent.