September 2012 Housing Starts in Prince Edward Island

MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK--(Marketwire - Oct. 9, 2012) - Housing starts in Prince Edward Island (PEI) were trending at 896 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 1,109 units in September, up from 818 in August.

"For the month of September, new home construction was slightly above the 2011 level, due mainly to an increase in single starts in Charlottetown. On a year-to-date basis, total starts in the province's urban centres are above 2011 levels, with gains in both multiple and single starts," said Jason Beaton, CMHC's Market Analyst for Prince Edward Island.

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.

Single-detached starts added 35 actual units in September 2012. Multiple starts totaled 64 actual units in September compared to 74 units reported in September of last year. Overall total starts year-to-date 2012 remain ahead of the pace set last year with 509 actual units recorded, up from 480 units 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

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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