April 2016 Housing Starts in Ottawa

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 9, 2016) - Housing starts in the Ottawa Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 4,773 units in April compared to 4,953 units 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) of housing starts.

"Housing starts trended lower for the third consecutive month in April due to a decline in high-rise starts," said Anne-Marie Shaker, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for Ottawa. "On the supply side, builders are managing apartment inventories by restraining the launch of new projects opting to channel demand to unsold units. This has resulted in a decline in unsold apartment units in recent months. Improving economic conditions has supported housing demand. "

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.

In Ottawa, the monthly SAAR measure was 3,737 in April up from 3,721 in March, due to an increase in low-rise dwellings that more than offset the decrease in high-rise dwellings. Among high-rise units, starts this month were almost evenly split between rentals and condominiums.

Preliminary Housing Starts data is also available in English and French at the following link: Preliminary Housing Starts Tables

As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers objective housing research and information to Canadian governments, consumers and the housing industry.

For more information, visit our website at www.cmhc.ca or follow us on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Additional data is available upon request.

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Tables and a graph are available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1053858e.pdf