Ontario Home Starts Remain Stable in July

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Aug. 9, 2012) - Ontario urban* housing starts were trending at 77,600 units in July according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) ** of housing starts. The standalone monthly SAAR was 72,400 units in July, up slightly from 71,000 SAAR units in June. While single detached construction edged lower, multi family home construction remained elevated in July.

"The trend in Ontario residential construction activity peaked in the second quarter and turned lower entering the third quarter," said Ted Tsiakopoulos, CMHC's Ontario Regional Economist. "This is an indication that momentum in construction activity is slowing heading into the second half of the year. Fundamentally, modest job growth across the province, more balanced resale markets and a declining backlog of apartment sales not yet constructed, should help temper activity ahead."

For some markets, 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 apartment segment of the market, which can be quite volatile from one month to the next.

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on over 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of high quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable homes. 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.

For more information, visit www.cmhc.ca or call 1-800-668-2642. CMHC Market Analysis standard reports are also available free for download at CMHC Housing Market Information.

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