Housing Starts Trending Up in the Quebec CMA in July 2016

QUÉBEC, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - Aug. 9, 2016) - Housing starts in the Québec census metropolitan area (CMA) were trending at 4,990 units in July, compared to 4,254 in June, 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 housing starts trend in the Québec area has increased slightly over the past few months as a result of the relatively high level of activity observed in the rental housing segment. However, the number of units started since the beginning of 2016 remains below the level recorded over the same period a year ago, which can be explained by the significant decrease in activity in the condominium segment," said Élisabeth Koulouris, CMHC's Principal, Market Analysis, for the Québec CMA.

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 5,804 units in July, down from 6,327 in June. The significant change in the annual rate was due to the multiples segment, which often shows notable variations from one month to the next.

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/1065065a.pdf