May 2015 Housing Starts in Vancouver

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - June 8, 2015) - Housing starts in the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 19,400 units in May compared to 19,765 units 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.

"Both multi-family and single-detached home starts trended lower in May," said Robyn Adamache, Principal, Market Analysis. "The cities of Surrey and Vancouver accounted for more than half of all new homes started in the CMA in the first five months of the year. Richmond, Langley District Municipality, and North Vancouver City rounded out the top five building centres this year based on strength in multi-family home construction."

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 17,320 units in May, down from 23,914 units in April. Both single-detached and multi-family starts were down in May.

Housing starts in the Abbotsford-Mission CMA were trending at 582 units in May, up from 549 units 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.

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.

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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/chmcVAN0604.pdf