October 2014 Housing Starts in Toronto

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Nov. 10, 2014) - Housing starts in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) trended lower at 27,895 units in October compared to 29,713 in September 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.

"A stable economy continues to support housing demand, as evidenced by the fact that the number of low rise starts has remained steady. Despite monthly variations, apartment starts increased in October following unusually low activity in September. However, the longer term trend points to a decline in high rise starts," said Dana Senagama, CMHC's Toronto Senior Market Analyst. "Fewer pre-construction condominium apartment sales between mid-2012 and mid-2013 continue to translate to lower starts during the second half of 2014."

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 stand alone monthly SAAR was 25,611 units in October, up from 15,081 units in September. The increase was attributed to both low and high rise starts.

The municipality of Brampton recorded the highest number of starts in October, which was followed by the City of Toronto and Markham. Strong single-detached and apartment construction led Brampton to the top this month.

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.

Follow CMHC on Twitter @CMHC_ca

This release is also available at www.cmhc.ca

Additional data is available upon request.

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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.

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