June 2012 Canada Housing Starts

OTTAWA, ON - Housing starts in Canada were trending at 218,500 units in June, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR)1 of housing starts. The standalone monthly SAAR was 222,700 units in June, up from 217,400 in May.

“The monthly increase posted in June was mainly attributable to multiple urban starts in Québec and British Columbia. The rate of starts, however, remains close to the six month average,” said Mathieu Laberge, Deputy Chief Economist at CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre. “CMHC still expects the pace of housing starts to moderate as the year progresses,” added Laberge.

For some markets, CMHC uses the trend measure as a complement to the monthly SAAR of housing starts to account for considerable swings in monthly estimates and obtain a more complete picture of the state of the housing market. Analyzing only SAAR data can be misleading in some markets in some situations, as they are largely driven by the multiples segment of the markets which can be quite volatile from one month to the next.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 2.6 per cent to 199,500 units in June. Urban single starts decreased slightly by 0.3 per cent in June to 67,500 units, while multiple urban starts increased by 4.1 per cent to 132,000 units.

June’s seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 7.7 per cent in Atlantic Canada, by 17.3 per cent in Québec and by 31.2 per cent in British Columbia. Urban starts decreased by 6.9 per cent in the Prairies and by 9 per cent in Ontario.

Rural starts2 were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 23,200 units in June.

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of high quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable housing solutions. CMHC also provides reliable, impartial and up-to-date housing market reports, analysis and knowledge to support and assist consumers and the housing industry in making informed decisions.

For more information, call 1-800-668-2642. CMHC Market Analysis standard reports are also available free for download at www.cmhc.ca/housingmarketinformation.

1 All starts figures in this release, other than actual starts and the trend estimate, are seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) — that is, monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels. By removing seasonal ups and downs, seasonal adjustment allows for a comparison from one season to the next and from one month to the next. Reporting monthly figures at annual rates indicates the annual level of starts that would be obtained if the monthly pace was maintained for 12 months. This facilitates comparison of the current pace of activity to annual forecasts as well as to historical annual levels.

2 CMHC estimates the level of starts in centres with a population of less than 10,000 for each of the three months of the quarter, at the beginning of each quarter. During the last month of the quarter, CMHC conducts the survey in these centres and revises the estimate.

 

 

Housing Starts, Actual and SAAR*
  Actual SAAR
June
2011
June
2012
May
2012
June
2012
Source: CMHC
*Seasonally adjusted annual rates
**Urban centres with a population of 10,000 and over
    Detailed data available upon request.
  Revised Preliminary Revised Preliminary
Canada, all areas 18,494 20,327 217,400 222,700
Canada, rural areas 2,250 2,183 22,900 23,200
Canada, urban centres** 16,244 18,144 194,500 199,500
Canada, singles, urban centres 7,287 6,923 67,700 67,500
Canada, multiples, urban centres 8,957 11,221 126,800 132,000
         
Atlantic region, urban centres 1,055 1,121 9,100 9,800
Quebec, urban centres 3,816 3,967 36,500 42,800
Ontario, urban centres 6,648 6,258 77,700 70,700
Prairie region, urban centres 2,866 3,843 45,200 42,100
British Columbia, urban centres 1,859 2,955

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