Canadian Mortgage News

January 2004 National News Archive

Housing Starts Bounce Back in November

OTTAWA, Ontario, December 8, 2004 — The seasonally adjusted annual rate¹ of housing starts was 238,200 in November, up from 225,000 in October, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

"Residential construction activity remained strong in November with housing starts coming in above the 200,000 level for an eighteenth consecutive month. New construction continues to respond to sustained demand for housing which is the result of continued strength in the Canadian economy," said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC's Market Analysis Centre. "Housing starts remain on track to reach a 17-year high in 2004."

November housing starts in Canada's urban centres increased 6.7 per cent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 209,700 units. Urban single detached starts fell by 2.8 per cent to 99,300 units in November while the volatile urban multiple starts increased 17.1 per cent to 110,400.

Urban housing starts in November increased in every region except Ontario and the Atlantic where the seasonally adjusted annual rate of starts decreased 2.9 per cent and 11.0 per cent, respectively. Urban housing starts in November increased in British Columbia by 32.0 per cent, in the Prairie region by 6.1 per cent and in Quebec by 13.2 per cent.

The estimated number of seasonally adjusted annualized starts in Canada's rural areas was 28,500 units.

For the first eleven months of this year, actual urban starts increased 5.9 per cent compared with the same period last year. Single starts rose 3.5 per cent and multiple starts are up 8.6 per cent.

^1. All starts figures in this release, other than actual starts, are seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR)-that is, monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels.

Information on this release:

Bob Dugan
CMHC
(613) 748-4009
E-mail: bdugan@cmhc-schl.gc.ca

For regional starts information contact:

Source: CMHC

*Seasonally adjusted annual rates
** Urban centres with a population of 10,000 persons and over.
Detailed data available upon request.

News source: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)