November 2012 Housing Starts in Brantford CMA


TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Dec. 10, 2012) - Housing starts in Brantford, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 387 units in November, 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. The standalone monthly SAAR was 333 units in November, down from 354 units in October.

"Total housing starts were down in November 2012 compared to the same month in 2011. Single-detached and row starts were completely responsible for the decline in Brantford's total housing starts this November," said Abdul Kargbo, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for the Hamilton and Brantford CMAs.

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 multiples segment includes apartments, rows and semi-detached homes.

Single-detached housing starts, which are less volatile and therefore a better indicator of the trend in construction activity, decreased in November 2012 compared to the same month a year earlier. The weak performance in single-detached starts this November halted the upward trend in construction activity for this type of dwelling. Within the multiple-housing segment, in November 2012, row starts declined while no construction activity occurred for semi-detached or apartment structures. On a sub-market basis, between January and November 2012, total housing starts in Brant City edged higher, while total residential construction activity in Brantford City remained below the number of units reported during the first eleven months of 2011.

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

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable housing solutions. CMHC also provides reliable, impartial and up-to-date housing market reports, analysis and knowledge to support and assist consumers and the housing industry in making informed decisions.

[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.

Additional data is available upon request.

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To view the tables associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/tables127b.pdf.

Contact Information:

Market Analysis Contact:
Abdul Kargbo
416-250-3294
akargbo@cmhc.ca

Media Contact:
Beth Bailey
416-218-3355
bbailey@cmhc.ca