August 2013 Housing Starts in London


TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Sept. 10, 2013) - Housing starts in London, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 2,232 units in August compared to 2,161 in July 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 six month trend for starts continued upward as the pace of starts has strengthened since May following a slow beginning to the year. Apartment starts continue to lag the pace in 2012 and are the primary contributor to the lower year-to-date total," said Alexander Bonnyman, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for London. "Row home starts continue to be very strong with year-to-date activity exceeding the total for 2012."

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 1,612 units in August, down from 1,910 in July.

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/130910_CMHC_London.pdf.

Contact Information:

Market Analysis Contact:
Alexander Bonnyman
416-250-2710
abonnyma@cmhc.ca

Media Contact:
Beth Bailey
416-218-3355
bbailey@cmhc.ca