Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: May 2013 Housing Starts in British Columbia

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - June 10, 2013) - Housing starts in British Columbia's urban areas¹ were trending at 21,980 units in May compared to 22,093 in April according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR)² of housing starts.

"The housing starts trend in British Columbia recorded little change in May compared to April. The trend has been stable during the past few months with slightly higher levels of single-detached construction offsetting fewer multiple-family starts," said Carol Frketich, CMHC's Regional Economist for British Columbia.

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 was 21,308 units in May, down from 23,010 in April.

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

Additional data is available upon request.

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¹ Urban areas are centres with populations of 10,000 or more people.

² 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.

To view the graph and tables accompanying this press release please click on the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/CMHC0610.pdf