June 16, 2014, Ottawa — Housing starts in Canada were trending at 184,438 units in May, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
The trend, a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts, held steady from the 183,872 units reported in April.
"In May, the trend in housing starts was virtually unchanged for the third consecutive month. This is in line with CMHC's analysis indicating that the new home construction market in Canada is headed for a soft landing in 2014," said Bruno Duhamel, manager of housing and economic analysis for CMHC. "Builders are expected to continue to manage their starts activity in order to ensure that demand from buyers seeking new units is first channeled toward unsold completed units or unsold units that are currently under construction, including condominium units."
The standalone monthly SAAR was 198,324 units in May, a slight increase from 196,687 in April.
The SAAR of urban starts increased to 180,813 units. Multiple urban starts decreased to 117,709 units while the single-detached urban starts segment increased to 63,104 units.
In May, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased in Atlantic Canada, Quebec and British Columbia, held steady in Ontario, and decreased in the Prairies.
Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17,511 units.
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