OTTAWA, Ontario, December 8, 2005 — The seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of housing starts was 222,100 units in November, up from 206,800 units in October, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
"New residential construction activity displayed resilience in November, regaining most of the territory lost the previous month. Strong employment and income gains, coupled with low mortgage rates continue to bolster consumer confidence and demand for homes," said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC's Market Analysis Centre. "While demand for new homes remains strong, rising mortgage carrying costs will cause housing starts to fall short of the peak set in 2004."
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts rose 8.6 per cent to 192,500 units in November with increases in both single and multiple starts. Multiples were up 14.6 per cent to 101,200, while single starts advanced 2.7 per cent to 91,300 units in November compared to October.
Ontario led the country with a 36.9 per cent jump in the seasonally adjusted annualized rate of urban housing starts in November to 74,600 units, due in large part to a recovery in the volatile multiples segment in Toronto. Urban housing starts in November in the Prairies were up 3.1 per cent to 39,600 units and up 1.8 per cent to 40,500 units in Quebec compared to the previous month. Activity was down on both coasts with the seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts in British Columbia falling 13.8 per cent to 29,900 units and 19.4 per cent to 7,900 units in the Atlantic region.
Rural starts in November were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 29,600 units.
For the first 11 months of 2005, actual urban starts were 5.9 per cent lower than in the same period in 2004. Year-to-date single starts decreased 10.7 per cent, while multiple starts declined 1.0 per cent compared to the same period last year.
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
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:
Ted Tsiakopoulos
CMHC
(416) 218-3407
ttsiakop@cmhc-schl.gc.ca
Prairie provinces:
Vinay Bhardwaj
CMHC
(403) 515-3004
vbhardwa@cmhc-schl.gc.ca
British Columbia:
Carol Frketich
CMHC
(604) 737-4067
cfrketic@cmhc-schl.gc.ca
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Housing Starts, Actual and SAAR*
|
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|
October 2005
Final |
November 2005
Preliminary |
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|
Actual
|
SAAR
|
Actual
|
SAAR
|
|
| Canada, all areas |
18,785 |
206,800 |
20,112 |
222,100 |
| Canada, rural areas |
2,862 |
29,600 |
2,614 |
29,600 |
| Canada, urban centres** |
15,923 |
177,200 |
17,498 |
192,500 |
| Canada, singles, urban centres |
7,871 |
88,900 |
7,724 |
91,300 |
| Canada, multiples, urban centres |
8,052 |
88,300 |
9,774 |
101,200 |
| Atlantic region, urban centres |
845 |
9,800 |
712 |
7,900 |
| Quebec, urban centres |
3,538 |
39,800 |
3,987 |
40,500 |
| Ontario, urban centres |
5,088 |
54,500 |
6,945 |
74,600 |
| Prairie region, urban centres |
3,507 |
38,400 |
3,332 |
39,600 |
| British Columbia, urban centres |
2,945 |
34,700 |
2,522 |
29,900 |
Source: CMHC
*Seasonally adjusted annual rates
** Urban centres with a population of 10,000 persons and over.
Detailed data available upon request.