August 2016 Housing Starts in London

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Sept. 8, 2016) - Total housing starts in the London Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending up at 3,612 units in August compared to 3,131 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.

"Higher condominium starts this month contributed to the upward trend in total starts. Buyers looking to purchase a new home in the City of London for less than $400,000 will likely have to buy a home in a multi-unit structure, the vast majority of which are condominium ownership. The resale market for homes priced under $400,000 has tightened considerably this year, encouraging builders to start a higher number of homes in that price range," said Anthony Passarelli, Senior Market Analyst with CMHC.

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 monthly SAAR of total starts was 4,589 units in August, up from 1,874 units in July, primarily due to higher apartment starts. The monthly SAAR of semi-detached, and row home starts were also higher in August.

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/1068731a.pdf