Toronto Housing Starts Increase in July 2016

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Aug. 9, 2016) - Housing starts in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) trended higher at 43,261 units in July 2016 compared to 40,930 in June 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.

"Fuelled by condo apartment construction, July saw the housing starts trend increase in Toronto," said Dana Senagama, CMHC Principal Market Analyst for the GTA. "Single-detached home starts continued to trend strongly in July as a result of stronger sales in the new home market since the end of last year. Limited resale listings led buyers to purchase pre-construction units that are now underway."

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 39,619 units in July, down from 46,034 units in June. The decrease was mainly a result of fewer apartment starts. Offsetting this month's decline was a significant jump in row starts, and to a lesser extent growth in single-detached starts.

The City of Toronto recorded the highest number of starts within the Toronto CMA primarily due to higher condominium apartment starts. This was followed by the City of Markham, which also had higher apartment starts. Next was the City of Brampton where more single-detached and row home starts were prevalent.

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/1065275e.pdf