Prices of newly built homes rose by an average of a 10th of a per cent in the month of August, Statistics Canada said Wednesday, surprising analysts who had expected a drop of that size.

Statistics Canada said new home prices were unchanged in 10 of 21 metropolitan markets.

The gain in the agency's new home price index was driven by larger-than-average increases in Toronto, Hamilton, Oshawa, Ont., and Montreal.

The biggest monthly price rise took place in Hamilton, where prices gained 0.9 per cent from July.

"In Hamilton, the increase was due in part to builders moving to new areas with higher land development fees," Statistics Canada said.

On a year-over-year basis, new homes were 2.9 per cent more expensive in August than they were a year ago — the same rate of increase seen in July.

The largest year-over-year increases were found in Regina (6.1 per cent), Winnipeg (5.3 per cent) and St. John's (4.9 per cent).

Yearly price drops were recorded in only four of the 21 areas: Charlottetown (2.2 per cent), Sudbury and Thunder Bay (1.8 per cent), Windsor (1.3 per cent) and Victoria (0.4 per cent).