THUNDER BAY – REAL ESTATE – Housing starts in Thunder Bay were down in April. “The downward trend in housing starts in Thunder Bay, in evidence since January, continued in April. However, for the third consecutive month, the resale market strengthened. This, coupled with building permits being slightly ahead of 2014 to the end of April, indicates that demand for new homes is strengthening,” stated Warren Philp, CMHC Market Analyst.
Housing starts in Thunder Bay, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 107 units in April down from 138 units 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) [1] of housing starts.
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 108 units in April up from 18 units in March. The pick-up came entirely from single-detached starts. Builders started only three single-detached homes in April, but had started none in March. The number of starts is usually low in April; the 10-year average for the month of April is six single-detached housing starts.
