In Quebec urban centres, the number of housing starts was trending at 40,200 units in June, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts. The standalone monthly SAAR was 42,800 units in June, up from 36,500 in May.
"Since the beginning of the year, starts of single detached homes have kept a stable rate. As far as multi-family starts are concerned, we still observe months for which activity is sustained. That said, we still believe that the pace of housing starts for apartments will settle at a lower rate than that observed last year, as a result of less robust economic conditions and a greater supply in this market segment, " explains Kevin Hughes, Regional Economist at CMHC for Quebec
For some markets, 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. Analysing only SAAR data can be misleading in some markets in some situations, as housing starts are largely driven by the multiples segment of the markets, which can be quite unpredictable from one month to the next.
Elsewhere in the country, June’s seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts decreased in Ontario, and in the Prairies. Urban starts increased in Atlantic Canada and in British Columbia. In each region, the decrease or increase was mainly due to changes in multiple starts.
"Since the beginning of the year, starts of single detached homes have kept a stable rate. As far as multi-family starts are concerned, we still observe months for which activity is sustained. That said, we still believe that the pace of housing starts for apartments will settle at a lower rate than that observed last year, as a result of less robust economic conditions and a greater supply in this market segment, " explains Kevin Hughes, Regional Economist at CMHC for Quebec
For some markets, 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. Analysing only SAAR data can be misleading in some markets in some situations, as housing starts are largely driven by the multiples segment of the markets, which can be quite unpredictable from one month to the next.
Elsewhere in the country, June’s seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts decreased in Ontario, and in the Prairies. Urban starts increased in Atlantic Canada and in British Columbia. In each region, the decrease or increase was mainly due to changes in multiple starts.