September 2015 Housing Starts in Vancouver

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Oct. 8, 2015) - Housing starts in the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 21,459 units in September compared to 22,419 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.

"While the trend of single-detached housing starts was steady, multiple-family starts trended lower after peaking in August," said Richard Sam, CMHC Principal, Market Analysis for Vancouver. "Despite the lower trend, firm buyer demand has multiple-family starts trending higher in September compared to the beginning of the year," said Sam

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 standalone monthly SAAR was 18,097 units in September, up from 16,723 units in August. Actual year-to-date starts were four per cent higher than last year's levels.

Housing starts in the Abbotsford-Mission CMA were trending at 833 units in September, up from 584 units in August. An increase in apartment condominium starts moved the trend higher.

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.

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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A graph and tables are available at the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1027815.pdf.