September 2016 Housing Starts in Gatineau

MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - Oct. 11, 2016) - Housing starts in the Gatineau area were trending at 1,662 units in September, compared to 1,659 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) of housing starts.

The trend in housing starts in the Gatineau area was relatively unchanged in September. "Since the beginning of the year, activity has been relatively stable on the new home market, despite an increase in housing demand. However, the inventory of unsold new homes recorded a significant decrease in 2016. It therefore appears that builders are directing part of the demand toward unsold new units rather than starting new projects," said Geneviève Lapointe, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for the Gatineau area.

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 2,091 units in September, up from 1,381 in August.

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.

For more information, visit our website at www.cmhc.ca or follow us on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Additional data is available upon request.

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