September 2013 Housing Starts in Hamilton CMA

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Oct. 8, 2013) - Housing starts in Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 2,451 units in September compared to 2,827 units 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)(1) of housing starts.

"The trend in Hamilton CMA total housing starts decreased in September 2013, representing three consecutive monthly contractions. The decrease in September was entirely due to weaker construction of multiple-family housing in the City of Hamilton. Meanwhile, total housing starts in the City of Burlington and the Town of Grimsby were up due to higher level of townhouses," said Abdul Kargbo, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for Hamilton and Brantford CMAs.

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.

The standalone monthly SAAR was 2,607 units in September, up from 2,025 units in August.

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

Additional data is available upon request.

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Tables and a graph are available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/903086a.pdf