September 2015 Housing Starts in Montreal

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Oct. 8, 2015) - Housing starts in the Montréal census metropolitan area (CMA) were trending at 21,640 units in September, compared to 17,059 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 Montréal CMA housing starts moved sharply higher in September, as a result of the exceptional simultaneous launch of several large condominium and rental housing projects. In this last segment, the vast majority of the units started are intended for the conventional rental market. Nevertheless, we still expect housing starts in the Montréal area to decrease in 2015," said Francis Cortellino, CMHC's Principal, Market Analysis, for Montréal.

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 stand-alone monthly SAAR was 39,532 units in September, up from 13,622 in August. The significant variation in the annual rate was due to the multiple-unit housing segment, where notable fluctuations are often observed from one month to the next.

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.

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 were maintained for 12 months. This facilitates comparison of the current pace of activity to annual forecasts as well as to historical annual levels.

Follow CMHC on Twitter @CMHC_ca.

Additional data is available upon request.

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To view the graph and tables associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1027798e.pdf.