OTTAWA, Ontario, December 8, 2003 — The seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of housing starts was 213,000 in November, compared to 237,300 in October, reports Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
"Despite the decline in the rate of housing starts in November, the high level of activity continues to reflect a robust pace of housing construction across the country," said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC's Market Analysis Centre.
"Demand for home ownership remains strong, supported by favourable mortgage rates and an improving labour market. Year-to-date, actual starts have exceeded last year's level by 6.5 per cent."
In November, urban single starts increased 3.5 per cent to 104,400 units at seasonally adjusted annual rates compared to 100,900 units the previous month. This increase was reflected in all regions of the country except in the Atlantic region where urban single starts decreased slightly. Canada-wide, year-to-date actual urban single starts are 3.2 per cent lower compared to the same period in 2002.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban multiple starts dropped 25.2 per cent to 82,700 units in November compared to 110,500 units in October. The majority of the decrease occurred in Ontario with decreases also being observed in British Columbia and the prairie provinces. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban multiple starts rose in Quebec and the Atlantic region. Nationally, year-to-date actual urban multiple starts increased 19.7 per cent compared with the same period in 2002.
Rural starts in November were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 25,900 units.
1 All starts figures in this release, other than actual starts, are seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) that are monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels.
Information on this release:
Bob Dugan
CMHC
Tel: (613) 748-4009
E-mail: bdugan@cmhc-schl.gc.ca
For regional starts information contact:
Atlantic provinces: Alex MacDonald, CMHC, (902) 426-8964, amacdona@cmhc-schl.gc.ca
Quebec: Kevin Hughes, CMHC, (514) 283-4488, khughes@cmhc-schl.gc.ca
Ontario: Alex Medow, CMHC, (416) 218-3344, amedow@cmhc-schl.gc.ca
Prairie provinces: Vinay Bhardwaj, CMHC, (403) 515-3004, vbhardwaj@cmhc-schl.gc.ca
British Columbia: Carol Frketich, CMHC, (604) 737-4067, cfrketic@cmhc-schl.gc.ca
Housing Starts, Actual and SAAR* |
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| October 2003 Final Estimate |
November 2003 Preliminary |
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| Actual | SAAR | Actual | SAAR | |
| Canada, all areas | 22,326 | 237,300 | 18,597 | 213,000 |
| Canada, rural areas | 2,608 | 25,900 | 2,304 | 25,900 |
| Canada, urban centres** | 19,718 | 211,400 | 16,293 | 187,100 |
| Canada, singles, urban centres | 8,927 | 100,900 | 8,763 | 104,400 |
| Canada, multiples, urban centres | 10,791 | 110,500 | 7,530 | 82,700 |
| Atlantic region, urban centres | 690 | 7,700 | 917 | 8,900 |
| Quebec, urban centres | 3,769 | 43,600 | 3,794 | 44,300 |
| Ontario, urban centres | 9,101 | 91,800 | 6,501 | 72,800 |
| Prairie region, urban centres | 3,294 | 36,800 | 2,914 | 34,900 |
| British Columbia, urban centres | 2,865 | 31,500 | 2,167 | 26,200 |
Source: CMHC
*Seasonally adjusted annual rates
** Urban centres with a population of 10,000 persons and over.
Detailed data available upon request.