October 2012 Housing Starts in London

Real Estate — November 8, 2012

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Nov. 8, 2012) - Housing starts in London, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 2,701 units in October, 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. The standalone monthly SAAR was 1,391 units in October, down from 1,454 in September.

"Year-to-date starts for all dwelling types have increased as compared to the same period a year earlier. A stimulative mortgage rate environment, strong growth in employment and wages over the year prior and lower year-to-date listings on the resale market are all factors that have supported residential construction activity in London," said Alexander Bonnyman, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for London.

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 multiples segment includes apartments, rows and semi-detached homes.

Year-to-date starts at 1,852 units in 2012 are 25 per cent higher than the 2011 figure. Growth in apartment construction has driven the majority of the gains, although all housing types have posted year-to-date gains. Starts activity in October at 115 units is lower than the 141 units started a year earlier. Single-detached starts accounted for the majority of the decline, with 78 starts in October 2012 as compared to 98 the year prior. Most single-detached starts continued to occur in the City of London.

Preliminary Housing Starts data is also available in English and French at the following link: Preliminary Housing Starts Tables.

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable housing solutions. CMHC also provides reliable, impartial and up-to-date housing market reports, analysis and knowledge to support and assist consumers and the housing industry in making informed decisions.

⁽¹⁾ All starts figures in this release, other than actual starts and the trend estimate, are seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) - that is, monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels. By removing seasonal ups and downs, seasonal adjustment allows for a comparison from one season to the next and from one month to the next. Reporting monthly figures at annual rates indicates the annual level of starts that would be obtained if the monthly pace was maintained for 12 months. This facilitates comparison of the current pace of activity to annual forecasts as well as to historical annual levels.

Additional data is available upon request.

(Ce document existe également en français)

To view the figures associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/832798e_figs.pdf.

Contact Information

Market Analysis Contact:
Alexander Bonnyman
416-250-2710
abonnyma@cmhc.ca

Media Contact:
Beth Bailey
416-218-3355
bbailey@cmhc.ca