January 2013 Housing Starts in Brantford CMA

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 8, 2013) - Housing starts in Brantford Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 379 units in January, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR)¹ of housing starts. The standalone monthly SAAR was 251 units in January, down from 583 units in December.

"Brantford's total housing starts were down in January 2013 compared to the same month in 2012. Semi-detached, row and apartment starts were completely responsible for the decrease in total housing starts this January. Meanwhile, single-detached starts remained virtually unchanged. The steady performance in single-detached starts this January suggested that the move-up buyer segment in Brantford remained very active. Typically, buyers in the group (aged 45 to 64) demand single-detached dwellings," said Abdul Kargbo, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for the Hamilton and Brantford CMAs.

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 multiples segment includes apartments, rows and semi-detached homes.

On a sub-market basis, in January 2013, total housing starts in Brant City remained practically unchanged, while total residential construction activity in Brantford City dropped below the number of units reported in January 2012.

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.

¹ 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.

Additional data is available upon request.

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