September 2014 Housing Starts in Ottawa

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Oct. 8, 2014) - Housing starts in Ottawa Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 6,211 units in September compared to 6,246 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.

"In seasonally adjusted terms September starts came in lower compared to the previous month driven mainly by a decline in rows and apartments. In contrast, single-detached homes strengthened once more. On the whole, the third quarter ended with fewer starts as builders continued to reduce new apartment construction. The modest employment picture in the CMA continues to dampen housing market sentiment," said Sandra Perez Torres, Senior Market Analyst for Eastern and Northern Ontario.

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.

In Ottawa, the standalone monthly SAAR was 5,139 units in September down from 7,172 units in August.

This month, Kanata took the lead in starts activity as it captured the highest share of single-detached starts by area. Gloucester outside the greenbelt (OTG) held the second place with 21 per cent followed by Nepean (OTG) with 19 per cent. Nevertheless, for the quarter as well as year-to-data, Nepean (OTG) continues lead starts activity in Ottawa due to its dominance in row construction. Kanata on the other hand has a clear lead in single-detached construction.

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

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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Tables and a graph are available at the following address:

http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/CMHC_Ottawa.pdf