November 2015 - Housing Starts Trend Higher in Vancouver

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Dec. 8, 2015) - Housing starts in the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 21,651 units in November compared to 21,590 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.

"Starts in November continue to trend at a high level after an active summer and early fall of new construction activity, particularly in the multiple-unit segment," said Richard Sam, CMHC Principal, Market Analysis for Vancouver. "Lower inventories of newly completed and unsold condominiums have prompted builders to build more homes in the CMA, with the cities of Surrey and Vancouver accounting for just under half of all new homes started year-to-date" said Sam.

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 multiple-unit segment of the markets which can be quite variable from one month to the next.

The standalone monthly SAAR was 17,718 units in November, down from 24,760 units in October. Actual year-to-date starts were 7.5 per cent higher than last year's levels.

Housing starts in the Abbotsford-Mission CMA were trending at 987 units in November, up from 845 units in October. There was an increase in both the single-detached and apartment condominium starts that led to the rising trend. Actual year-to-date starts were 62 per cent above last year's levels.

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

To view the tables and graph accompanying this press release please click on the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1035848.pdf

(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.