New home price growth in the Calgary region led the country by far in October, according to Statistics Canada.

The federal agency reported Thursday that its New Housing Price Index for the Calgary area rose 6.6 per cent from the past year while for the rest of Canada it was up by only 1.6 per cent.

On a month-over-month basis, prices were up 0.2 per cent in the Calgary region and by 0.1 per cent in Canada.

The federal agency said that in Calgary “builders cited higher material and labour costs as the main reasons for the gain.”

On an annual basis, it said price movements at the national level have ranged from gains of 1.3 per cent to 1.6 per cent since September 2013.

-Calgary Herald