THUNDER BAY – REAL ESTATE – Housing start numbers in Thunder Bay for January are one of the economic benefits of the “January Thaw” that saw warmer temperatures through the month.
The housing starts trend in the Thunder Bay Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) was slightly higher at 202 units in January compared to 189 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) of housing starts.
“The small increase in total housing starts trend in January was due to the slightly higher singles starts trend,” said Warren Philp, CMHC Market Analyst for the Thunder Bay CMA. “The month, traditionally slower, may have been somewhat more active because of the unseasonably warm weather.”
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 of total housing starts was 258 units in January, up from 143 units in December, as stronger singles starts offset weaker multiples starts.
Preliminary Housing Starts data is also available in English and French at the following link:
Preliminary Housing Starts Tables
