August 2016 Housing Starts in Guelph

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Sept. 8, 2016) - Housing starts in the Guelph Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending down at 1,373 units in August compared to 1,391 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) of housing starts.

"The decrease in total housing starts trend in August was due to fewer single-detached homes and townhouses. A limited supply of registered lots for ground-oriented housing has meant a lower trend for starts of these housing types," said Erica McLerie, Senior Market Analyst at CMHC. "In-migration and a very tight resale market have meant strong demand for new homes. The trend for housing starts remained slightly above the level consistent with the rate of household formation."

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 SAAR of total housing starts was 411 units in August, up from 270 units in July due to a higher number of semi-detached and townhouse starts. The actual total housing starts for the first eight months of 2016 reached 792 units, up three per cent compared to the same period in 2015.

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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