Vancouver Housing Starts on the Rise in September

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Oct. 11, 2016) - Housing starts in the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 29,741 units in September compared to 28,123 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) of housing starts.

"After a dip in August, Vancouver housing starts reset on an upward trend in September given a recent surge in multiple-family residential construction," said Robyn Adamache, CMHC Principal Market Analyst for Vancouver. "A number of large multiple-family projects, including rental, were started in Burnaby, New Westminster and Vancouver City in response to strong housing demand."

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 37,993 units in September, up from 24,000 units in August as all dwelling types recorded an increase in starts levels this month.

Housing starts in the Abbotsford-Mission CMA were trending at 937 units in September, down from 1,003 in August. This is the second consecutive month that housing starts have trended down, mainly due to a decline in single-detached starts.

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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To view the graph and tables accompanying this press release please click on the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1071823e_TABLESandGRAPHS.pdf