January 2015 Housing Starts in Vancouver

VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Feb. 9, 2015) - Housing starts in the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 19,671 units in January 2015 compared to 20,019 units in December 2014, 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 trended lower in January 2015, compared with December 2014, as an increase in single-detached starts was offset by a decline in multiple-family construction," said Carol Frketich, CMHC's BC Regional Economist.

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 16,644 units in January 2015, down from 21,303 units in December 2014, due to a decrease in multiple starts.

Housing starts in the Abbotsford-Mission CMA were trending at 412 units in January 2015, down from 470 units in December 2014.

Preliminary Housing Starts data is also available in English and French at the following link: Preliminary Housing Starts Tables

As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers objective housing research and information to Canadian governments, consumers and the housing industry.

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.

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Additional data is available upon request.

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