Vancouver Housing Starts Trend Lower

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Feb. 8, 2017) - Housing starts in the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 24,597 units in January 2017 compared to 25,956 units in December 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.

"Total housing starts in Vancouver trended slightly lower in January, following a record year in 2016," said Christina Butchart, CMHC's Regional Economist. "Single family home starts were below typical January figures as builders focused on higher density projects and projects already 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 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 16,519 units in January 2017, down from 26,342 units in December 2016 as housing construction decreased across all dwelling types.

Housing starts in the Abbotsford-Mission CMA were trending at 1,301 units in January 2017, up from 890 units in December 2016. The rise in apartment starts offset declines in starts for single family and town homes.

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/1085134_fig.pdf