Apartment Building Construction Price Index Up 0.6% in Q2 2016

August 11, 2016 

The composite price index for apartment building construction rose 0.6% in the second quarter compared with the previous quarter. This increase resulted from higher material prices and labour costs.

Of the seven census metropolitan areas surveyed, Vancouver (+1.4%) reported the largest gain, followed by Toronto (+1.2%). Calgary (-1.6%) and Edmonton (-1.6%) recorded the only decreases.

Year over year, the composite price index for apartment building construction rose 0.7%. The largest increase was in Toronto (+2.4%), followed by Montreal (+1.1%). The year-over-year advances were moderated by declines in Calgary (-2.0%), Edmonton (-1.8%) and Vancouver (-0.1%).

The Apartment Building Construction Price Index is a quarterly series that measures changes in contractors’ selling prices of new apartment building construction in seven census metropolitan areas: Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa–Gatineau (Ontario part), Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

Selling prices include costs of materials, labour and equipment, provincial sales taxes where applicable, and contractors’ overhead and profit. The costs of land, land assembly, design and development, as well as real estate fees, are excluded. Value added taxes such as the federal goods and services tax and the harmonized sales tax are excluded.

Table 1: Apartment Building Construction Price Index — Not Seasonally Adjusted

Source: Statistics Canada www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/160809/dq160809b-eng.htm.