VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - July 11, 2016) - Housing starts in British Columbia's urban areas were trending at 41,473 units in June compared to 39,073 units 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.

"The trend measure of housing starts posted its highest level since 1990 as all home types trended higher in June," said Carol Frketich, CMHC's BC Regional Economist. "The inventory of new completed and unsold (unabsorbed) homes is extremely low. As well, a lack of existing homes for sale, rising home prices and low rental vacancy rates have spurred new home construction, pushing British Columbia housing starts to historic highs."

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 for urban starts in British Columbia was 47,984 units in June, compared to 34,710 units in May. The June increase was mainly the result of a surge in apartment starts.

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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