May 2015 Housing Starts in the Sherbrooke CMA

MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - June 8, 2015) - Housing starts in the Sherbrooke census metropolitan area (CMA) were trending at 1,354 units in May, compared to 1,205 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.

"For the second consecutive month, the upward trend in housing starts in the Sherbrooke area was mainly attributable to the multi-unit segment. The construction of rental apartments and seniors' housing units was particularly strong in May. Single-detached homebuilding, for its part, continued to slow down, such that single-detached houses now account for only one in five dwellings started in the area. Demand for new single-detached homes is weaker for several reasons, including increasingly higher lot prices and the wide choice on the resale market," said Marie-Claude Guillotte, Senior Market Analyst at CMHC.

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 2,059 units in May, up from 1,739 in April.

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 were 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.

(Ce document existe également en français.)

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