New housing prices rose by 6.2 per cent from December 2006 to December 2007, mainly due to a strong housing market in the Prairie provinces.

That was a slightly faster pace than the year-over-year increase of 6.1 per cent in November, Statistics Canada reported Monday.

On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.1 per cent between November and December.

Regionally, prices climbed at the fastest rate in Saskatoon, where the annual increase was 45.1 per cent.

Saskatoon prices rose a full one per cent between November and December, largely due to higher costs for concrete, drywall and land development.

For new homebuyers in Edmonton, prices were 21.5 per cent higher than in December 2006, while prices in Calgary rose six per cent.

Windsor was the only city to record year-over-year deflation, with prices falling 1.1 per cent from December 2006.

The year-over-year gain in Toronto was 3.4 per cent, while prices in Montreal rose 4.1 per cent.

In the Atlantic region, buyers in Halifax faced prices 10.4 per cent higher than December 2006, while those in St. John's saw an increase of 7.9 per cent.