June 2011 Housing Starts

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - July 11, 2011) - The seasonally adjusted annual rate(1) of housing starts was 197,400 units in June, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This is up from a revised 194,100 units in May 2011. April 2011 has also been revised to 194,100 units.

"Housing starts increased in June due to an increase in single and multiple starts in Ontario," said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC's Market Analysis Centre. "The revised numbers show that housing starts have been above their trend line since March. However, we expect housing starts to move back towards levels consistent with demographic fundamentals in the near term."

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 2.2 per cent to 174,600 units in June. Urban single starts were up by 11.1 per cent in June to 70,900 units, while multiple urban starts decreased by 3.1 per cent to 103,700 units.

June's seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 24.1 per cent in Ontario, and by 5.6 per cent in the Atlantic region. British Columbia posted a decrease of 27.6 per cent over the same period, while urban starts decreased 3.6 per cent in Québec, and by 1.2 per cent in the Prairie region.

Rural starts(2) were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 22,800 units in June.

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of high 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.

(1)	All starts figures in this release, other than actual starts, 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 makes it possible to highlight the fundamental trends of a series. 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.
(2)	CMHC estimates the level of starts in centres with a population of less than 10,000 for each of the three months of the quarter, at the beginning of each quarter. During the last month of the quarter, CMHC conducts the survey in these centres and revises the estimate.

For more information, visit http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca or call 1-800-668-2642.

This release is also available on the CMHC Web site: http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca

For regional starts information contact:

Atlantic provinces: Alex MacDonald, CMHC,

(902) 426-8964, amacdona@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

Quebec: Kevin Hughes, CMHC,

(514) 283-4488, khughes@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

Ontario: Ted Tsiakopoulos, CMHC,

(416) 218-3407, ttsiakop@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

Prairie provinces: Lai Sing Louie, CMHC,

(403) 515-2991, llouie@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

British Columbia: Robyn Adamache, CMHC,

(604) 737-4144, radamach@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

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To view the graph associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/CMHCa0711.pdf

Housing Starts, Actual and SAAR*
			Actual		SAAR
			June 2010	June 2011	May 2011	June 2011
			Revised	Preliminary	Revised	Preliminary
Canada, all areas			17,529	18,232	194,100	197,400
	Canada, rural areas		2,183	2,250	23,300	22,800
	Canada, urban centres**		15,346	15,982	170,800	174,600
		Canada, singles, urban centres	7,835	7,287	63,800	70,900
		Canada, multiples, urban centres	7,511	8,695	107,000	103,700
		Atlantic region, urban centres	1,012	1,051	9,000	9,500
		Québec, urban centres	4,223	3,816	44,400	42,800
		Ontario, urban centres	4,957	6,390	55,600	69,000
		Prairie region, urban centres	3,058	2,866	32,500	32,100
		British Columbia, urban centres	2,096	1,859	29,300	21,200

Source: CMHC

*Seasonally adjusted annual rates

** Urban centres with a population of 10,000 and over.

Detailed data available upon request