Pick Up in Housing Activity in Halifax

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwired - June 8, 2016) - Housing starts in Halifax, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 1,493 units in May compared to 1,332 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)¹ of housing starts.

"While year-to-date actual construction lags behind levels recorded in 2015, residential activity in Halifax is picking up pace," said Guillaume Neault, Principal, Market Analysis with CMHC's Atlantic Market Analysis Centre. "Current activity level is on par with forecasted numbers," Neault added.

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 2,851 units in May, up from 710 in 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.

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¹All 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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To view the graph and tables associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://file.marketwire.com/release/1058244e.pdf