June 2016 Housing Starts in the Quebec CMA

MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - July 11, 2016) - Housing starts in the Québec census metropolitan area (CMA) were trending at 4,255 units in June, compared to 4,648 in May, 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.

"Despite the start of construction on large rental projects, housing starts trended downward in the Québec area in June as a result of the low level of activity observed in the condominium segment. This low level of activity is not surprising given the significant supply of condominium units for sale, especially on the existing home market," said Francis Cortellino, Principal Market Analyst at CMHC.

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, analyzing 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 stand-alone monthly SAAR was 6,337 units in June, down from 6,875 in May. The significant change in the annual rate was due to the multiples segment, which often shows notable variations from one month to the next.

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/1061976a.pdf