TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct. 9, 2012) - Housing starts in London, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 2,172 units in September, 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. The standalone monthly SAAR was 1,462 units in September, down from 4,499 in August.
"The strong number of apartment starts in the third quarter of 2012 was primarily due to two larger projects bringing a mix of condo and rental units to the market. Affordable condominiums units and newer apartment buildings will be attractive to those in the 25-44 year-old age group who experienced job losses through the recession and subsequently regained employment," said Alexander Bonnyman, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for London. "A continued upward trend in the participation rate for this age group indicates that they are optimistic that their employment prospects are improving."
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 multiples segment includes apartments, rows and semi-detached homes.
Single detached starts added 106 actual units in September 2012. Year-to-date total starts have reached 1,737 actual units with activity centred on single detached units although 2012 has been a strong year for apartment starts with 234 more units started to date than by September 2011. Year-to-date single-detached starts are on track to post stronger results than a year earlier although starts numbers remain below the pre-recessionary levels. The City of London continues to attract a higher proportion of the CMA's starts at 76 per cent than the 2000-2010 average of 71 per cent.
Preliminary Housing Starts data is also available in English and French at the following link: Preliminary Housing Starts Tables.
As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable housing solutions. CMHC also provides reliable, impartial and up-to-date housing market reports, analysis and knowledge to support and assist consumers and the housing industry in making informed decisions.
| (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.
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To view the table associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/cmhc1009lonte.pdf.
Contact Information:
Market Analysis Contact:
Alexander Bonnyman
416-250-2710
abonnyma@cmhc.ca
Media Contact:
Beth Bailey
416-218-3355
bbailey@cmhc.ca