The average price of a new Canadian home rose 0.3 per cent in May, the third straight month it has increased at that rate.

Statistics Canada's new home price index showed Thursday that Regina, Toronto and Oshawa, Ont., had the highest monthly gains in new home prices during the month.

Regina's 3.4 per cent gain was tied to higher costs for materials. The 0.7 per cent gains in Toronto and Oshawa were because of favourable market conditions, builders reported.

On an annualized basis, the index was 2.9 per cent higher in May, up from 2.5 per cent in April. Across the country, the largest annual gain was the 7.4 per cent increase seen in Regina.

Of the 21 metropolitan areas covered in the survey, only three registered 12-month declines in May: Victoria, Charlottetown and Edmonton.