December 2016 Housing Starts in the Saguenay CMA

QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Jan. 10, 2017) - Housing starts in the Saguenay census metropolitan area (CMA) were trending at 498 units in December, compared to 447 in November, 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.

"Over the last few months, the pace of construction in the Saguenay area has followed a slight upward trend. The number of housing starts recorded in 2016 represents, however, an 18-per-cent decrease compared to the number recorded in 2015. The sluggish economic and demographic environment, as well as the large supply of properties already available on the market, explain why residential construction remained relatively weak in 2016," said Nicolas Bernatchez, Market Analyst at 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, analyzing 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 stand-alone monthly SAAR was 603 units in December, up from 549 in November.

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 associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1082149e.pdf