March 2016 Housing Starts in Oshawa

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - April 8, 2016) - Housing starts in the Oshawa Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) trended higher at 2,856 in March 2016 compared to 2,618 in February 2016 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.

"Housing starts trended higher March to reach their second highest level in nearly nine years. While demand for low rise homes in Oshawa remained strong owing to their relative affordability compared to other centers within the GTA, high-rise new home construction continues to gain ground as well," said Andrew Scott, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for the GTA.

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 jumped to 3,034 units in March 2016 from 1,292 in February 2016. While single-detached SAAR recorded higher starts in March, apartment starts were the main source of robust monthly increase.

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/1049944e.pdf