April 2014 Housing Starts in Kingston

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 8, 2014) - Housing starts in the Kingston Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 392 units in April compared to 408 in March, 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.

"April's seasonally adjusted housing starts in the Kingston CMA saw little change from the previous month. Underneath this month's total starts was an increase in townhome starts, which are on pace for another strong year. Townhomes continue to offer a considerable discount to single-detached dwellings, and are often the preferred choice of first-time buyers. Although overall construction has trended down this year, population growth and improving economic indicators suggest some rebound in new housing construction in the coming quarters." said Andrew Scott, Market Analyst for Kingston.

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, analysing 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 variable from one month to the next. The multiples segment includes apartments, rows and semi-detached homes.

The standalone monthly SAAR was 258 units in April up from 217 in March.

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 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.

Follow CMHC on Twitter @CMHC_ca.

¹All 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.

Additional data is available upon request.

(Ce document existe également en français)

A table and a graph are available at the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/kingston_tables_eng_0507.pdf