Source: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation - Ottawa HQ

June 2013 Housing Starts in Ottawa

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - July 9, 2013) - Housing starts in Ottawa Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 5,689 units in June compared to 5,140 units in May 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.

"Seasonally adjusted housing starts picked up in June following a slight moderation in May as activity firmed in most segments of the housing market. Single-detached and row construction continue the revitalizing trend started earlier in the second quarter. Nonetheless, housing starts in the Ottawa CMA are forecast to moderate from last year's strong level," said Sandra Perez Torres, Senior Market Analyst for Eastern and Northern Ontario.

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. In Ottawa, the standalone monthly SAAR was 7,545 units in June up from 5,946 units in May.

In June, construction was mostly unchanged from May with apartment starts remaining concentrated in the Ottawa city core, giving this region the lion's share of total starts at 40 per cent. Kanata was next capturing over a quarter of all starts activity led by single detached and row construction.

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.

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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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A graph and tables are available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/e709cmhc_ott.pdf

Contact Information:

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Sandra PĂ©rez-Torres
Senior Market Analyst
613-552-0798
sperezto@cmhc.ca

National Media Contact:
Angelina Ritacco
Consultant, Communications and Marketing
(416) 218-3320
aritacco@cmhc.ca