July 2016 Housing Starts Trend in Montreal Remains Stable

MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - Aug. 9, 2016) - Housing starts in the Montréal census metropolitan area (CMA) were trending at 15,621 units in July compared to 15,056 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 trend in housing starts in the Montréal CMA held relatively steady in July. This stability concealed, however, a slight increase in condominium construction and a decrease in activity in the rental housing sector," said Tania Bourassa-Ochoa, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for the Montréal area.

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 15,366 units in July, down from 16,906 in June.

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/1065080a.pdf