August 2015 Housing Starts in the Sherbrooke CMA

MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - Sept. 9, 2015) - Housing starts in the Sherbrooke census metropolitan area (CMA) were trending at 1,407 units in August, compared to 1,352 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 trend in housing starts in the Sherbrooke area picked up slightly in August, mainly as a result of a rise in single-detached housing construction. Nevertheless, single-detached housing starts remained low," said Marie-Claude Guillotte, Senior Market Analyst at CMHC. "Also, the pace of construction for this housing type has stayed below the rate for semi-detached and row homes over the past few months. Demand for new single-detached homes is weaker than before for several reasons, including the increasingly high price of lots and the wide choice on the resale market."

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 variable from one month to the next.

The stand-alone monthly SAAR was 643 units in August, up from 582 in July.

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.

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 were maintained for 12 months. This facilitates comparison of the current pace of activity to annual forecasts as well as to historical annual levels.

Follow CMHC on Twitter @CMHC_ca.

Additional data is available upon request.

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To view the graph and tables associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1024248e.pdf