CMHC: August Housing Starts

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 9, 2011) - The seasonally adjusted annual rate(1) of housing starts was 184,700 units in August, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This is down from 204,500 units in July 2011.

"Housing starts in August were in line with current demographic fundamentals and are consistent with CMHC's recent Housing Market Outlook," said Mathieu Laberge, Deputy Chief Economist at CMHC's Market Analysis Centre. "Housing starts decreased in all regions, except the Prairies with the decline being more pronounced in the multiples segment."

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts decreased by 10.2 per cent to 165,800 units in August. Multiple urban starts were down by 15.5 per cent to 101,400 units, while urban single starts decreased by 0.3 per cent in August to 64,400 units.

August's seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts decreased by 41.4 per cent in the Atlantic region, by 15.3 per cent in British Columbia, by 11.8 per cent in Ontario and by 8.8 per cent in Quebec, while urban starts increased by 9.4 per cent in the Prairie region over the same time period.

Rural starts(2) were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 18,900 units in August.

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of high 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.

For more information, visit http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca or call 1-800-668-2642.

A graph is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Cmhc0909.pdf

For regional starts information contact:

Atlantic provinces: Alex MacDonald, CMHC,

(902) 426-8964, amacdona@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

Quebec: Kevin Hughes, CMHC,

(514) 283-4488, khughesl@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

Ontario: Ted Tsiakopoulos, CMHC,

(416) 218-3407, ttsiakop@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

Prairie provinces: Richard Cho, CMHC,

(403) 515-2996, rcho@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

British Columbia: Carol Frketich, CMHC,

(604) 737-4067, cfrketic@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

Housing Starts, Actual and SAAR*
			Actual			SAAR
			August 2010		August 2011	July 2011	August 2011
			Revised		Preliminary	Revised	Preliminary
Canada, all areas			17,111		16,464	204,500	184,700
	Canada, rural areas		2,256		2,104	19,900	18,900
	Canada, urban centres**		14,855		14,360	184,600	165,800
		Canada, singles, urban centres	6,541		5,946	64,600	64,400
		Canada, multiples, urban centres	8,314		8,414	120,000	101,400
		Atlantic region, urban centres	936		755	13,300	7,800
		Quebec, urban centres	3,036		2,517	38,800	35,400
		Ontario, urban centres	5,720		5,772	72,600	64,000
		Prairie region, urban centres	2,951		3,210	31,800	34,800
		British Columbia, urban centres	2,212		2,106	28,100	23,800

Source: CMHC

*Seasonally adjusted annual rates

** Urban centres with a population of 10,000 and over.

Detailed data available upon request.

(1) All starts figures in this release, other than actual starts, 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 makes it possible to highlight the fundamental trends of a series. 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.

(2) CMHC estimates the level of starts in centres with a population of less than 10,000 for each of the three months of the quarter, at the beginning of each quarter. During the last month of the quarter, CMHC conducts the survey in these centres and revises the estimate.