Statistics Canada says its price index for new houses rose 0.1 per cent in March, after a 0.2 per cent increase in February.

The agency says month-over-month gains in the index have ranged from 0.1 per cent to 0.3 per cent for the last 12 months.

For the second month in a row, the largest monthly advance occurred in Regina, where prices were up 0.7 per cent.

However, Calgary, where prices were up 0.3 per cent, was the top overall contributor to the March advance.

Prices also rose in Saskatoon, Windsor, Winnipeg, Hamilton and the combined metropolitan area of Toronto and Oshawa.

In March, prices decreased 0.2 per cent in Vancouver and were unchanged in nine of the 21 metropolitan regions surveyed.