THUNDER BAY – BUSINESS – Housing starts in the Ontario region were trending at 53,710 units in January, down from 54,878 units in December, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR)(1) of housing starts.
The SAAR of total urban housing starts was 59,316 units in January, up from 56,798 units in December. Ontario urban housing starts are running three per cent above levels this time last year. Most of the increase in starts occurred in the GTA and southwestern Ontario centres in January.
“All of the increase in starts occurred in the less expensive multi-unit home sector which includes semi detached, row and apartment dwellings. Apartment starts, both ownership and rental, have regained momentum since August of 2014 and are solely responsible for recent increases in construction activity. Lower Ontario rental apartment vacancy rates, rising single detached home prices and increasing densification will continue to support apartment construction,” said Ted Tsiakopoulos, CMHC’s Ontario Regional Economist.
Thunder Bay Housing Starts
Housing starts in Thunder Bay, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 252 units in January down from 284 units in December according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR)(1) of housing starts.
“January’s decrease in the housing starts trend in Thunder Bay reversed the strengthening witnessed in the final eight months of 2014. A relatively weak January helped temper the trend,” commented Warren Philp, CMHC Market Analyst.
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 was 77 units in January down from 297 in December.
