July 2016 Housing Starts in Gatineau

MONTRÉAL, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - Aug. 9, 2016) - Housing starts in the Gatineau area were trending at 1,802 units in July, compared to 1,519 in June, 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 housing starts trend in the Gatineau area picked up in July. "The growth in housing demand observed in the Gatineau area since the beginning of the year resulted in a decrease in the inventory of unsold new homes and a certain upward trend in residential construction. However, the level of activity remained low compared to the historical average," said Tania Bourassa-Ochoa, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for the Gatineau area.

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 1,851 units in July, up from 973 in June.

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/1065061a.pdf