November 2012 Housing Starts in Quebec

MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC--(Marketwire - Dec. 10, 2012) - Housing starts in Province were trending at 41,203 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 40,134 units in November, up from 34,782 in October.

"According to the various measures that we take, it still can't be said that a definite slowdown is taking place in apartment construction. That being said, we do observe a convergence of telling signs of a near-term decline in this segment. We are thus still of the opinion that levels will be lower next year," said Kevin Hughes, CMHC's Regional Economist for Quebec.

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.

Single-detached starts amounted to 792 actual units in November 2012. Multiple starts totalled 3,147 actual units in November. Between January and November, total starts have reached 37,094 compared to 37,958 during the same period last year.

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

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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.

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.

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Additional data is available upon request.

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A graph is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/CMHC_ENG_1210.pdf

Preliminary Housing Start Data
November / 2011-2012
Province, Centres 10,000+			November 2011	November 2012
	Actual, urban centres1
		November - Single-Detached	973	792
		November - Multiples	2,953	3,147
		November - Total	3,926	3,939
		January to November - Single-Detached	10,659	9,683
		January to November - Multiples	27,299	27,411
		January to November - Total	37,958	37,094
			October 2012	November 2012
	SAAR2, urban centres1
		Total	34,782	40,134

Source: CMHC

1 Urban centres with a population of 10,000 and over.

2 Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates

Detailed data available upon request.