March 2012 Housing Starts

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 11, 2012) - The seasonally adjusted annual rate¹ of housing starts was 215,600 units in March, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This is up from 205,300 units in February.

"The upward movement in March was largely due to an increase in multiple starts, particularly in Ontario and the Prairies. This was partly offset by a decrease in multiple starts in British Columbia and Quebec, while single-detached starts decreased marginally country-wide," said Mathieu Laberge, Deputy Chief Economist at CMHC's Market Analysis Centre."

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 4.2 per cent to 192,100 units in March. Urban single starts moderated by 2.4 per cent in March to 68,000 units. Meanwhile, multiple urban starts were up by 8.3 per cent to 124,100 units.

March's seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 30.3 per cent in Ontario, by 6.4 per cent in the Prairies, and by 2.7 per cent in Atlantic Canada. In each of these regions, the increase was due to multiple starts, but the role of increased multiple starts was most pronounced in Ontario. Although multiple starts in Ontario increased by 50.4 per cent, the pace is exceptional and not expected to be sustained. Urban starts decreased by 27.7 per cent in British Columbia and by 16.3 per cent in Québec.

Rural starts² were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 23,500 units in March.

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.

For more information, visit www.cmhc.ca or call 1-800-668-2642. CMHC Market Analysis standard reports are also available free for download at www.cmhc.ca/housingmarketinformation.

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.

This release is also available at www.cmhc.ca.

A graph is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/CMHC_ENG_0411.pdf

Housing Starts, Actual and SAAR*
			Actual		SAAR
			March	March	February	March
			2011	2012	2012	2012
			Revised	Preliminary	Revised	Preliminary
Canada, all areas			12,561	14,517	205,300	215,600
	Canada, rural areas		906	756	21,000	23,500
	Canada, urban centres**		11,655	13,761	184,300	192,100
		Canada, singles, urban centres	3,634	4,030	69,700	68,000
		Canada, multiples, urban centres	8,021	9,731	114,600	124,100
		Atlantic region, urban centres	271	333	7,400	7,600
		Quebec, urban centres	3,111	2,571	41,800	35,000
		Ontario, urban centres	4,940	6,062	65,400	85,200
		Prairie region, urban centres	1,897	3,173	40,800	43,400
		British Columbia, urban centres	1,436	1,622	28,900	20,900

	Source: CMHC
*	Seasonally adjusted annual rates
**	Urban centres with a population of 10,000 and over.
	Detailed data available upon request.