Buyers should expect to pay more for brand new homes.

The cost of residential construction in Canada rose 22.6 percent in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year.

In a report Thursday (May 5), Statistics Canada indicated that the year-over-year growth “surpasses previous highs”.

The increase exceeded the “high (+21.9% registered in the previous quarter”.

The report covered 11 census metropolitan areas or CMAs, which correspond to major urban centres.

The biggest increases were in Calgary (31.4 percent), Edmonton (26.6 percent), and Toronto (26.5 percent).

In Metro Vancouver, the cost of home construction in the first quarter of 2022 increased 15.4 percent compared to the same period in 2021.

The Moncton CMA posted the lowest growth in costs at 8.5 percent.

All other urban centres witnessed double-digit increases.

“Contractors surveyed attributed part of the growth in building construction costs to the rise in labour costs, and a surge in the number of vacancies for construction trades has contributed to increased wages in these occupations,” Statistics Canada related.

“In addition, amid rising fuel prices, contractors cited that a larger share of their expenses were now allocated to the transportation of their building materials.”

On a quarterly basis, residential building construction costs in the 11 CMAs increased 5.6 percent in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the fourth quarter of 2021.

Statistics Canada noted that the quarterly increase in 2022 was the “highest increase since the second quarter of 2021”.

In Metro Vancouver, the quarterly growth was 4.3 percent.