May 15, 2013, Ottawa — Housing starts in Canada were trending at 182,754 units in April compared to 188,369 in March, 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.
“As expected, the trend in total housing starts continued to moderate in April. As a result, it drew closer to its historical average and is in-line with estimates of household formation. Recent moderation in total housing starts has been led by the multiple starts segment, particularly in Ontario,” said Mathieu Laberge, deputy chief economist at CMHC.
The standalone monthly SAAR was 174,858 units in April, down from 181,146 in March. The SAAR of urban starts decreased by 2.5 per cent in April to 153,528 units, led by a 3.5 per cent decline in multiple urban starts to 93,469 units. Single urban starts remained relatively unchanged from March at 60,059 units in April.
April’s seasonally adjusted annual rates of urban starts decreased in Atlantic Canada (down 40.8 per cent), Ontario (down 14.9 per cent) and British Columbia (down 5.6 per cent). Urban starts increased in Quebec (up 14.8 per cent) and the Prairies (up 9.3 per cent).
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.
Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 21,330 units in April.
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