May 2016 Housing Starts in Ottawa


OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - June 8, 2016) - Housing starts in the Ottawa Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 4,412 units in May compared to 4,804 units in April according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

"Total housing starts trended lower for the fourth consecutive month in May mainly due to apartment starts trending lower," said Anne-Marie Shaker, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for Ottawa. "Instead of starting new high-rise projects, builders are channelling resources to finishing projects that were started earlier and the number of apartments under construction has been declining noticeably. In the single-detached home segment, demand remained relatively stable thanks to the improving economic conditions."

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 monthly SAAR measure was 5,877 in May, up from 3,808 in April. Starts were up across all housing types with multiple-family home starts doubling the figure of April.

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.

For more information, visit our website at www.cmhc.ca or follow us on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Additional data is available upon request.

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Tables and a graph are available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1058184a.pdf

Contact Information:

Media Contact:
Angelina Ritacco
Public Affairs Advisor, Communications and Marketing
416-218-3320
Cell: 647-210-7420
aritacco@cmhc.ca