May 2015 Housing Starts in Gatineau

MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - June 8, 2015) - Housing starts in the Gatineau area were trending at 1,502 units in May, compared to 1,178 in April, 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.

After having decreased in recent months, the trend in housing starts picked up in May. "This one-time increase was attributable, in part, to the start of several rental housing projects. However, the construction of new units in the Gatineau area will remain limited by the abundant supply of homes available on the new, resale and rental housing markets," said Geneviève Lapointe, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for the Gatineau 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 3,340 units in May, up from 1,484 in April.

Preliminary housing starts data is also available in English and French at the following link: Preliminary Housing Starts Tables.

^[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 were maintained for 12 months. This facilitates comparison of the current pace of activity to annual forecasts as well as to historical annual levels.

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.

Additional data is available upon request.

(Ce document existe également en français.)

Tables and a graph are available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Gatineau_ENG.pdf