Saskatoon Housing Starts Trend Higher in September

SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN--(Marketwired - Oct. 11, 2016) - Housing starts in the Saskatoon Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 2,079 units in September compared to 1,970 in August, 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 total housing starts.

"The trend in total housing starts rose further in September after local home builders increased production of single-detached units. Both single-detached and multi-unit starts trended higher from the previous month. Nonetheless, weak economic conditions and elevated resale supply remain a constraining factor for overall housing starts this year," said Goodson Mwale, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for Saskatchewan.

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, analyzing 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 was 2,224 units in September, up slightly from 2,210 in August. Total actual housing starts in September increased 24 per cent from a year ago, led solely by the singles sector where builders initiated 128 units compared to 84 in September 2015.

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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