August 2014 Housing Starts in Ontario

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Sept. 9, 2014) - Housing starts in the Ontario region were trending at 56,277 units in August, compared to 57,658 units in July, 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 SAAR of total urban housing starts was 49,685 units in August, down from 67,057 units in July. More urban Ontario centers registered softer versus stronger activity in the latest month - led by declines in Toronto and Kitchener. For the year ending August, Ontario raw urban starts were one per cent below levels for the same period one year ago.

"While most segments of the housing sector posted declines, apartment starts declined more sharply thanks to elevated activity in the previous month in the GTA. A better barometer of activity is the six month trend measure which paints a picture of stability and a new construction market that is better in line with demographic demand in recent months," said Ted Tsiakopoulos, CMHC's Ontario Regional Economist.

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.

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

^[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.

Additional data is available upon request.

(Ce document existe également en français)

A table and a graph are available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/966935E.pdf