May 2016 Housing Starts Rise in British Columbia

VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - June 8, 2016) - Housing starts in British Columbia's urban areas were trending at 39,293 units in May compared to 37,833 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) of housing starts.

"Total housing starts trended higher in May with more single-detached and multi-unit homes getting underway," said Carol Frketich, CMHC's BC Regional Economist. "Low levels of new inventory, tight resale and rental markets, as well as strong job growth and low mortgage rates, underpin this rising trend."

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 for urban starts in British Columbia was 35,312 units in May, compared to 45,608 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.

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/1058164_BC_ENG.pdf