Housing Starts Down in May
OTTAWA, Ontario, June 8, 2001 — The seasonally adjusted annual rate* of housing starts in Canada fell 4.3 per cent in May to 155,000 units compared with 162,000 units in April, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
Urban multiple starts were down 4.4 per cent to an annual rate of 62,600 units compared with 65,500 in April. The Atlantic and Prairie regions were the two areas reporting a decrease. Urban single starts fell 5.5 per cent to an annual rate of 70,200 from 74,300 units the previous month. Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia had fewer single starts.
"The level of housing starts is still in line with our forecasts reflecting a favourable housing market environment," said Philippe Legoff, a senior economist at CMHC's Market Analysis Centre. "The percentage of dwellings absorbed at completion is still high, signalling continued strong demand."
*All starts figures in this release are seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR), that is, raw monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect an annual pace. Other CMHC local and provincial releases may present analysis using raw figures.
Information:
Philippe Legoff
CMHC
(613) 748-2933
plegoff@cmhc-schl.gc.ca
HOUSING STARTS
ACTUAL AND SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ANNUAL DATA
|
|
APRIL 2001 FINAL |
MAY 2001 PRELIMINARY |
| PROVINCE |
ACTUAL |
SAAR |
ACTUAL |
SAAR |
| NEWFOUNDLAND |
58 |
800 |
131 |
1,300 |
| PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND |
22 |
300 |
34 |
300 |
| NOVA SCOTIA |
243 |
3,500 |
171 |
1,700 |
| NEW BRUNSWICK |
89 |
1,500 |
153 |
1,600 |
| QUEBEC |
2,735 |
21,900 |
2,475 |
19,100 |
| ONTARIO |
6,473 |
68,600 |
6,497 |
66,600 |
| MANITOBA |
177 |
2,100 |
129 |
1,500 |
| SASKATCHEWAN |
126 |
1,400 |
120 |
1,000 |
| ALBERTA |
2,104 |
24,700 |
2,257 |
23,500 |
| BRITISH COLUMBIA |
1,368 |
15,000 |
1,618 |
16,200 |
| TOTAL (+10,000 pop.) |
13,395 |
139,800 |
13,585 |
132,800 |
OTHER AREA ESTIMATES
(Less than 10,000 pop.) |
2,121 |
22,200 |
2,521 |
22,200 |
| CANADA |
15,516 |
162,000 |
16,106 |
155,000 |

News source: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)
| 
|