Vancouver Housing Starts Trended Lower in August

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Sept. 8, 2016) - Housing starts in the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 28,108 units in August compared to 30,333 units in July, 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.

"While actual housing starts remain well above levels recorded in 2015, August did see a dip in the trend for the first time this year," said Robyn Adamache, CMHC Principal Market Analyst for Vancouver. "Large multi-unit condo projects in Burnaby, Coquitlam and Vancouver account for just over half of all new residential starts in August."

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 24,013 units in August, down from 24,682 units in July due to a slowdown in new detached and row home starts.

Housing starts in the Abbotsford-Mission CMA were trending at 1,005 units in August, down from 1,241 units in July. Fewer starts of single detached homes, row units and apartments contributed to the decline in home building this month.

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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