Canadian February New Home Prices Advance 0.2% Led by Calgary

Canadas new home price index rose 0.2 percent in February led by gains in Calgary, the governments statistics agency said.

Prices in the Alberta city rose 0.9 percent from January on higher material and labor costs and the impact of a new provincial home-warranty program, Statistics Canada said today from Ottawa. Toronto, Canadas largest city, posted a 0.2 percent increase while Vancouver prices were unchanged.

Economists forecast the national index would rise 0.1 percent, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey with seven responses.

From a year earlier, new home prices increased 1.5 percent in February, matching the January pace. Calgary and Toronto led the annual gain, with new home prices rising 6.9 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.

Earlier this week, Statistics Canada reported residential building permits fell 21 percent in February from a record, and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said housing starts in March were at the slowest annual pace since the last recession.

To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Quinn in Ottawa at gquinn1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Badertscher at pbadertscher@bloomberg.net

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Canadian February New Home Prices Advance 0.2% Led by Calgary