January 2013 Housing Starts in Kingston

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 8, 2013) - Housing starts in the Kingston Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 915 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 328 units in January down from 708 in December.

"In January, Kingston CMA only saw single-detached starts. The number of singles started this month was much lower than the same month a year ago. During the last decade, the first month of the year has had on average roughly 30 housing starts," said Andrew Scott, CMHC`s Market Analyst for Kingston.

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.

"After strong performances in 2011 and 2012, housing starts this year are expected to moderate to levels that are in line with household formation trends. Modest employment growth and fewer apartment starts will also put downward pressure on the number of housing starts this year," concluded Scott.

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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To view the figures associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/CMHCENfigure1.pdf.