Statistics Canada’s New Housing Price Index slipped 0.1% in December, relative to the previous month. Prices fell in seven of the 27 metropolitan areas surveyed.<\/p>\n
The largest month-over-month decreases were in Greater Sudbury, Calgary and Toronto. They fell 0.7%, 0.4% and 0.4%, respectively, relative to November.<\/p>\n
The top increases came in from the east. The New Brunswick cities of Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton all reported 0.6% bumps.<\/p>\n
Relative to a year ago, the index is up 0.1%. The largest annual declines were in Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo and Ottawa \u2014 both fell 1.4%.<\/p>\n
The greatest increases were in Calgary and Quebec, at 3.9% and 3.8%, respectively.<\/p>\n
In a note to investors, CIBC senior economist Andrew Grantham wrote that these and other results indicate that “past interest rate cuts are starting to help growth.” In per-capita terms, however, economic activity is weak, “suggesting plenty of room for further growth before we should start worrying too much about inflationary pressures.”<\/p>\n
The bank is forecasting a 25-basis-point cut by the Bank of Canada at its Jan. 29 meeting.<\/p>\n