March 2015 Housing Starts in Sudbury


TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - April 10, 2015) - Housing starts in the Greater Sudbury Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 298 units in March compared to 361 units in February 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 trend in housing starts has been decreasing since last December in Sudbury, reflecting the continuous impact from winter conditions. Meanwhile, a high number of apartment units under construction also contributed to the sharper drop in the trend in multiple starts," said Aris Gianneskis, 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.

As there were no starts in March, the standalone monthly SAAR was close to zero, down from 358 units in February. Starts are always low in February and March. A slightly higher than usual number usually leads to a jump in the SAAR, which is the case for the past February.

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.

Follow CMHC on Twitter @CMHC_ca.

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 table and a graph are available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1001242a.pdf

Contact Information:

Market Analysis Contact:
Aris Gianneskis, Market Analyst
416-250-3228
agiannes@cmhc.ca

Media Contact:
Angelina Ritacco
416-218-3320
aritacco@cmhc.ca