June 2016 Housing Starts in Hamilton CMA

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - July 11, 2016) - Housing starts in Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending up at 2,765 units in June compared to 2,536 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 in Hamilton CMA total housing starts was up due to strong apartment starts in June 2016 compared to the previous month. Meanwhile, the trend in single-detached housing starts was practically unchanged in June compared to May," said Abdul Kargbo, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for Hamilton and Brantford CMAs. "Before stabilizing in May and June 2016, the trend in single-detached housing starts was down for six straight months. This phenomenon reflected a shift in demand from single-detached homes to multi-unit housing, as these types of dwellings are considered relatively more affordable in Hamilton."

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.

The standalone monthly SAAR was 3,560 units in June, up from 2,343 units in May. Similar to the trend measure, the June increase in the SAAR measure was entirely due to a higher number of apartment starts compared to May.

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/1062086a.pdf