OTTAWA, ON - Canadian housing starts held steady for the third straight month in May and the market appears to be headed for a "soft landing" this year, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Housing starts were trending at 184,438 units in May compared to 183,872 in April, a 0.3 percent increase, CMHC reported. “In May, the trend in housing starts was virtually unchanged for the third consecutive month," said Bruno Duhamel, manager, housing and economic analysis for CMHC. "This is in line with CMHC’s analysis indicating that the new home construction market in Canada is headed for a soft landing in 2014,” d “Builders are expected to continue to manage their starts activity in order to ensure that demand from buyers seeking new units is first channeled toward unsold completed units or unsold units that are currently under construction, including condominium units.” Only the Prairies registered a May decrease in urban housing strait activity, which represents about 90 percent of annual housing construction. Ontario was flat, while increases were recorded in Atlantic Canada, Quebec and British Columbia. CMHC is  Canada's national housing agency. It's mission is to draw on its 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of high quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable housing solutions.

OTTAWA, ON - Housing starts in Canada dipped by an almost imperceptible 0.6% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 183,515 units, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). “In April, the trend in housing starts was essentially stable at 183,515 units," said Mathieu Laberge, deputy chief economist of CMHC. "This is in line with CMHC’s analysis indicating that the new home construction market in Canada is headed for a soft landing in 2014. Over the remainder of the year, builders are expected to continue to adjust activity, particularly with respect to multiples, in order to manage inventory levels.” The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts for April increased in Ontario, the Prairies and Quebec, and decreased in Atlantic Canada and British Columbia.

OTTAWA, ON - Canadian housing starts opened the year trending at 191,456 units in January compared to 194,518 in December on a six-month average, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).  “The trend in housing starts decreased slightly in January, while the inventory of newly completed and unabsorbed units saw a modest downward trend in the last half of 2013," said Mathieu Laberge, deputy chief economist of CMHC. "This is consistent with our expectation that builders will continue to gradually adjust activity in order to manage their levels of inventory.” CMHC also tracks housing starts on a seasonally adjusted annual rate. The stand-alone monthly SAAR was 180,248 units in January, a decrease from 187,144 in December, with urban starts increasing in the Prairies and in Ontario while decreasing in Atlantic Canada, Quebec and British Columbia.

OTTAWA, ON - Canadian housing starts barely moved in December, declining by an almost imperceptible 670 units to 195,760 units (-0.3% from November), according to the Canada Mortgage and Home Corporation (CMHC). “The trend in housing starts has remained essentially stable since October 2013. Housing demand continues to be healthy in Canada," said Bruno Duhamel, manager of economic and housing analysis at CMHC. "The trend in existing home sales has been increasing since April 2013, while the trend in inventories of newly completed and unabsorbed homes has been declining at a modest pace since September 2013.”

OTTAWA, ON - New home starts in Canada remained virtually flat in June, increasing by 0,002% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 184,514 units, 427 more than in May, according to the Canada Mortgage and Home Corporation (CMHC). “As expected, the trend in total housing starts remained essentially stable in June, for a third consecutive month," said Mathieu Laberge, deputy chief economist of CMHC. "This reflects general stability in regional trends over the same period. As a result, the trend in national housing activity remains close to its historical average and is in-line with estimates of household formation. Laberge noted that housing start gains registered in British Columbia were offset by declines in other regions of Canada. Urban housing starts, which account for nearly 90% of all Canadian new home activity, decreased by 2.7% in June. This includes a 4.1% drop in single-family starts and a 2.0% in multi-family dwellings.