Toronto Housing Starts Edge Down in May 2016

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - June 8, 2016) - Housing starts in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) trended lower at 37,324 units in May 2016 compared to 41,634 in April 2016 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.

"Led by slowed construction of new apartments, Toronto housing starts edged down overall in May," said Dana Senagama, CMHC Principal Market Analyst for the GTA. "Single-detached home starts remain steady, however, as limited resale listings continue to drive buyers to the new home market."

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 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 33,103 units in May, down from 37,359 units in April. The decrease was mainly as a result of fewer apartment starts.

The City of Toronto recorded the highest number of starts within the Toronto CMA primarily due to higher apartment starts followed by Brampton and Newmarket.

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.

This release is also available at www.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/1058192a.pdf