September 2012 Housing Starts in Kitchener

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct. 9, 2012) - Housing starts in the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 2,280 units 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. The standalone monthly SAAR was 4,500 units in September, up from 1,070 in August.

"Townhouse and apartment construction continue to be the story this year. Price conscious consumers are buying these more affordable homes. Rental apartment construction has added to the numbers. Just under half of apartment construction this year has been rental. Immigrants, students, and downsizing baby boomers have supported demand for townhouses and apartments, said Erica McLerie, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo.

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.

New home construction rebounded in September compared to August. Construction began on 364 homes in September, down from 405 units started in September 2011. Builders started 70 single-detached homes, down from the 80 homes started a year ago. Townhouse starts doubled to 51 units, while apartment starts decreased to 235 units, from 298 units started in September 2011. Due to the strength of townhouse and apartment, housing starts in the first three quarter of 2012 outpaced the starts in the same period 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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Preliminary Housing Start Data
September / 2011-2012
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, CMA(1)		September 2011	September 2012
Actual
	Sept - Single-Detached	80	70
	Sept - Multiples	325	294
	Sept - Total	405	364
	Jan to Sept - Single-Detached	930	731
	Jan to Sept - Multiples	1,332	1,703
	Jan to Sept - Total	2,262	2,434
		August 2012	September 2012
SAAR(2)
	Total	1,070	4,500

Source: CMHC

⁽¹⁾ Census Metropolitan Area

⁽²⁾ Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates

Detailed data available upon request.

Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data by Type
September / 2011-2012
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, CMA(1)	Single		Semi		Row		Apt		Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Sub-Market
Cambridge City	19	14	0	0	5	24	0	0	24	38
Kitchener City	45	38	4	2	4	27	0	55	49	122
North Dumfries Township	3	1	0	6	10	0	0	0	13	7
Waterloo City	4	7	0	0	6	0	278	180	288	187
Woolwich Township	9	10	2	0	0	0	20	0	31	10
Total KCW CMA Starts	80	70	2	8	25	51	298	235	405	364
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data by Type
Year-to-Date / 2011-2012
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, CMA(1)	Single		Semi		Row		Apt		Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Sub-Market
Cambridge City	215	134	2	0	48	102	126	3	391	239
Kitchener City	447	374	14	8	118	186	346	381	925	949
North Dumfries Township	37	35	2	20	14	25	0	0	53	80
Waterloo City	65	85	0	2	33	33	601	941	699	1061
Woolwich Township	166	103	4	0	4	0	20	2	194	105
Total KCW CMA Starts	930	731	22	30	217	346	1,093	1,327	2,262	2,434

⁽¹⁾ Census Metropolitan Area