November 2014 Housing Starts in Oshawa

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Dec. 8, 2014) - Housing starts in Oshawa Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending slightly lower at 1,611 units in November compared to 1,684 in October according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).The trend is a six month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR)⁽¹⁾ of housing starts.

"While starts trended slightly lower in November mainly due to fewer row house starts, total starts activity so far this year is up compared to a year earlier. Demand for low rise homes in Oshawa continues to strengthen, especially given their lower price points compared to those in neighbouring Toronto CMA ", said Dana Senagama, CMHC's GTA Senior Market Analyst.

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 1,124 units in November, down from 1,393 in October.

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 advice to Canadian governments, consumers and the housing industry.

Follow CMHC on Twitter @CMHC_ca

(1) All starts figures in this release, other than actual starts and the trend estimate, are seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) - that is, monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels. By removing seasonal ups and downs, seasonal adjustment allows for a comparison from one season to the next and from one month to the next. Reporting monthly figures at annual rates indicates the annual level of starts that would be obtained if the monthly pace was maintained for 12 months. This facilitates comparison of the current pace of activity to annual forecasts as well as to historical annual levels.

Additional data is available upon request.

(Ce document existe également en français)

Tables and a graph are available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/982924_ENG.pdf