New home prices fall for first time in decade

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Led by cooling markets in Alberta and British Columbia, national prices on new homes declined month over month in October for the first time in over a decade, Statistics Canada said Thursday.

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& {) G4 w0 F- s7 i! J" V: c  wThe average cost of a home in Canada fell 0.4% between September and October, the federal agency said. It was the first monthly decrease nationally since September, 1998.
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) U4 \- q7 v0 HNew home prices in Edmonton and Calgary continued to come off peaking demand last year in October.
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" C# `) \. K2 \2 l- {2 \+ k, qPrices have fallen 7.7% year-over-year in Edmonton, marking the city's largest annual decline in more than 23 years. Calgary prices are down 1.6% from a year ago in the biggest retreat since November 1991, StatsCan said.

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& }- C$ K4 m. z# M- Q  MMonth to month, prices in Edmonton and Calgary fell by 1.7% and 0.6%, respectively.
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: z' n- `9 x5 u' NVancouver, where home prices have risen the fastest in recent years, saw a monthly drop of 1.1% in October as demand cooled rapidly. Year over year, prices were down 0.4%.


( m; l& ?# x# }5 DIn Victoria, contractors' selling prices decreased 1.1% year-over-year StatsCan said, down from an annual increase of 0.2% in September.
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2 x5 N) g8 C6 s- K1 E8 UUpward price pressure remained torrid in some markets as new home prices in Regina grew again in October, rising to 22.8% more expensive than a year ago. In contrast, Saskatoon prices were a modest 3.6% higher than a year ago while prices tumbled 1.6% from September to October as "builders continued report difficult market condition."

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Compared with last October, contractors' selling prices in Ottawa were 4.3% higher, while new homes in Toronto were 3% more expensive, StatsCan said.
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