VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Oct. 11, 2016) - Housing starts in British Columbia's urban areas were trending at 41,214 units in September compared to 39,917 units in August, 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 trend level of housing starts picked up in September as residential builders responded to ongoing demand for housing," said Carol Frketich, CMHC's BC Regional Economist. "A surge in apartment starts, including rental units, as well as an increase in town house and single-detached starts boosted residential construction last month, pushing the trend higher."
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 standalone monthly SAAR for urban starts in British Columbia was 47,560 units in September, compared to 34,211 units 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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To view the graph and tables accompanying this press release please click on the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1071807e_Tables.pdf
Contact Information:
Jeanette Wilkinson
604-737-4007
jpwilkins@cmhc.ca