Average Fair Market Value/Purchase Price for New Homes in Canada - Data from GST Administrative Records

Detailed information for 1992 to 1997

This survey collects, from the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, data on the new houses eligible to the GST/HST New Housing Rebate Program.

Data release - July 17, 1998

• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

This survey collects, from the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, data on the new houses eligible to the GST/HST New Housing Rebate Program; it collects data on the number of new houses eligible for the program, their value, the GST or HST paid, as well as on the GST/HST rebates approved. The data are used by the Canadian System of National Accounts to estimate the total expenditures on residential construction, as well as to derive a price deflator for these expenditures. The data are also used by housing economists and the real-estate industry to track the trends in this sector of the economy.

Reference period: Calendar year

Collection period: From the beginning of the reference period until two years after the end of the reference period.

Subjects

• Construction
• Prices and price indexes
• Residential construction

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The conceptual universe of the survey consists of all new houses eligible for a GST/HST rebate. The actual population studied consists of the new houses for which rebate claims were received and approved by the GST/HST New Housing Rebate Program for the GST or HST paid a) on the purchase or building of a new home, or b) for substantial renovation of, or major addition to an existing one. For the rebate to apply, the new home has to be used as a primary place of residence for the claimant or a relation, and its value has to be less than $450,000. The rebate program does not receive applications for all the eligible new houses.

Data sources

Data are extracted from administrative files.

The data are furnished to Statistics Canada by CCRA through the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between CCRA and Statistics Canada 1994.

The data are collected by CCRA who administers the GST/HST.

Error detection

Only records with positive Federal Rebate claims are kept. These are identified as having an amount above zero in the Federal Rebate Claim field. Coherence between province and postal code is ensured through manual correction. An algorithm is used to identify new home records. Edits are made on the data to ensure the monetary numbers are valid. For example, the Federal Rebate and the Nova Scotia rebate equal the total rebate.

Imputation

This methodology does not apply.

Quality evaluation

The data output is reviewed for aberrations. The data in question are investigated which may be in conjunction with CCRA.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any data which would divulge information obtained under the Statistics Act that relates to any identifiable person, business or organization without the prior knowledge or the consent in writing of that person, business or organization. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

Duffett rules for cell suppression.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

In subsequent releases the data are revised as a result of filing rules (the claimant has 2 years to file for a rebate from the date the transaction is completed) or of audits by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. Generally, the percentages of eligible houses purchased during a calendar year and for which the rebate was approved within 6, 12, or 18 months after the end of the year are respectively around 85%, 90% and 95%.

Data accuracy

The rebate program does not receive applications for all the eligible new houses. The homebuilder can deduct the rebate from the purchase and submit the Housing Rebate Application to the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency on the purchaser's behalf. It appears however, that some builders properly claim the rebates as Input Tax Credits when submitting their GST/HST returns, but neglect to attach to them the related Housing Rebate Application. These houses are not recorded in the GST/HST New Housing Rebate Program administrative file. The number of applications not directed to the rebate program is not known. However, through comparisons with other data on housing construction published by Statistics Canada and by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, it is estimated that the administrative file accounts for around 85% of all transactions on new houses not intended for rental and valued less than $450,000 (this denominator does include new houses not used as a primary place of residence though).