June 2015 Housing Starts in Vancouver

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - July 9, 2015) - Housing starts in the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 20,091 units in June compared to 19,408 units in May, 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.

"While single-detached home building held steady in June, multiple-unit starts trended higher. Apartment and town home construction drove the increase in the trend measure of housing starts this month," said Robyn Adamache, CMHC Principal Market Analyst for Vancouver. "So far this year, town home building has been focused in Surrey and Langley, while new apartment projects have been concentrated in Burnaby, North Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey and the City of Vancouver."

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 standalone monthly SAAR was 25,390 units in June, up from 17,384 units in May. Starts were up for all housing types in June.

Housing starts in the Abbotsford-Mission CMA were trending at 555 units in June, down from 777 units in May.

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.

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 graph and tables accompanying this press release please click on the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/280e.pdf