TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Oct. 8, 2015) - Housing starts in Brantford, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 903 units in September compared to 915 units in August, 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 Brantford CMA total housing starts was relatively unchanged in September compared to the previous month. The trend in townhouse starts continued its upward trajectory in September, mainly due to strong demand coming from first-time buyers who are more price sensitive than other buyers. New townhouses are generally more affordable than new single-detached dwellings. The trend in single-detached housing starts was down in September," said Abdul Kargbo, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for the Hamilton and Brantford CMAs.

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.

The standalone monthly SAAR was 707 units in September, up from 685 units in August. Migration from less affordable municipalities has been supportive of housing demand in Brantford. This in turn has translated into a high number of housing starts. Specifically, total housing starts reached 531 units in the first nine months of 2015, up from 282 units during the same period a year earlier.

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.

Follow CMHC on Twitter @CMHC_ca

Additional data is available upon request.

(Ce document existe également en français)

Tables and a graph are available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1027899e.pdf