September 2012 Housing Starts in Sudbury


THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct. 9, 2012) - Housing starts in the Greater Sudbury, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 493 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 408 units in September, down from 397 in August.

"After three quarters in 2012, single-detached starts continue to trail 2011 levels as do multi-family. Weaker than expected employment growth and recent growth in prices have taken the lustre off single-detached construction to some degree after a strong run-up in singles starts that peaked in 2007," observed Warren Philp, CMHC's Market Analyst for Sudbury.

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.

Forty-five single detached units started in September with only two multiple starts. Year-to-date total starts have reached 318 units with 95 of those units being semi-detached, row and or apartment units.

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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Preliminary Housing Start Data
September / 2011-2012
Greater Sudbury, CMA(1) September
2011
September
2012
Actual
June - Single-Detached 38 45
June - Multiples 37 2
June - Total 75 47
January to June - Single-Detached 241 233
January to June - Multiples 200 95
January to June - Total 441 318
August
2012
September
2012
SAAR(2)
Total 397 408
Source: CMHC
(1) Census Metropolitan Area
(2) Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates
Detailed data available upon request.

Contact Information:

Information on this release:
Market Analysis Contact:
Warren Philp
807-343-2016 or Cell: 807-627-1329
wphilp@cmhc.ca

Media Contact:
Beth Bailey, Consultant, Communications and Marketing
416-218-3355 or Cell: 416-988-4615
bbailey@cmhc.ca