November 2013 Housing Starts in Ottawa

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Dec. 9, 2013) - Housing starts in Ottawa Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 7,811 units in November compared to 8,012 units 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.

"Housing starts have been slowing down since mid-year mostly due to a moderation in apartment construction, which continued steeply in November. Even though single-detached and row starts improved, propping up year-to-date total activity, the increase was not strong enough to reverse the declining trend. The movement this month falls within CMHC expectations of a scaling-back in apartment activity and slight firming of other dwelling types by year end," 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 4,754 units in November down from 6,595 units in October.

Nepean (outside the greenbelt) captured the bulk of construction activity for the second month in a row with 43 per cent of total construction. The area saw the highest concentration of single-detached construction and it seized just over half of all row starts. Kanata came in distant second place with 16 per cent of total activity. All apartment construction this month took place in Gloucester (outside the greenbelt) with no other apartment units breaking ground anywhere else.

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.

Follow CMHC on Twitter @CMHC_ca

Additional data is available upon request.

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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.

A graph and tables are available at the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/916480e.pdf.