November Housing Starts down 3.6% from October
Housing starts in Canada were trending at
214,680 units in November, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing
Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six-month moving average of the
monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR)1 of housing starts. The standalone monthly SAAR was 196,125 units in November, down from 203,487 in October.
“As expected, housing starts remained below their recent trend and continued to fall for a third straight month. This decrease was mainly attributable to declines in single-detached and multi-unit housing construction in Ontario and British Columbia, resulting in part from a decline in the pace of pre-sales relative to that in late 2010 and early 2011,” said Mathieu Laberge, Deputy Chief Economist at CMHC. “The drop in starts in Atlantic Canada was primarily due to a decrease in multi-unit housing construction in Halifax, following higher than normal activity in October,” added Laberge.
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. In some situations, analyzing only SAAR data can be misleading in some markets, 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 decreased by
4.0 per cent to 174,323 units in November. Urban single starts declined
by 5.4 per cent to 58,606 units, while urban multiple starts fell by
3.2 per cent to 115,717 units.
November’s seasonally adjusted annual rates of urban starts fell in Ontario (-14.3 per cent), British Columbia (-16.5 per cent) and Atlantic Canada (-45.6 per cent). Urban starts rose in Quebec (+15.4 per cent) and the Prairies (+16.1 per cent).
Rural starts2 were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 21,802 units in November.
Preliminary Housing Starts data is also available in English and French at the following link: Preliminary Housing Starts Tables
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.
“As expected, housing starts remained below their recent trend and continued to fall for a third straight month. This decrease was mainly attributable to declines in single-detached and multi-unit housing construction in Ontario and British Columbia, resulting in part from a decline in the pace of pre-sales relative to that in late 2010 and early 2011,” said Mathieu Laberge, Deputy Chief Economist at CMHC. “The drop in starts in Atlantic Canada was primarily due to a decrease in multi-unit housing construction in Halifax, following higher than normal activity in October,” added Laberge.
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. In some situations, analyzing only SAAR data can be misleading in some markets, 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 decreased by
4.0 per cent to 174,323 units in November. Urban single starts declined
by 5.4 per cent to 58,606 units, while urban multiple starts fell by
3.2 per cent to 115,717 units.November’s seasonally adjusted annual rates of urban starts fell in Ontario (-14.3 per cent), British Columbia (-16.5 per cent) and Atlantic Canada (-45.6 per cent). Urban starts rose in Quebec (+15.4 per cent) and the Prairies (+16.1 per cent).
Rural starts2 were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 21,802 units in November.
Preliminary Housing Starts data is also available in English and French at the following link: Preliminary Housing Starts Tables
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.
