CMHC reports housing starts realizes large gain in November 2017
December 08, 2017
Trend in housing starts reached its highest level in almost 10 years, reflecting a second consecutive increase in multiple starts
OTTAWA (CNW) — The trend in housing starts was 226,270 units in November, compared to 216,642 units in October, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.“The trend in housing starts reached its highest level in almost 10 years this November, reflecting a second consecutive increase in multiple starts,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist. “This largely reflects construction of multiple units in Toronto, where evidence of overbuilding is low due to the decreasing inventory of completed and unabsorbed multiple units and strong demand.”Monthly HighlightsTorontoTotal housing starts in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) trended higher in November. Multiple-family dwelling starts trended significantly higher and contributed to the overall increase. Given escalating house prices of single-detached homes, more homebuyers continued to shift demand towards lower priced condominium apartments and townhomes. Higher sales of pre-construction condominium units in the past two years will continue to break ground throughout this year resulting in more condominium apartment starts.GuelphGuelph builders started 269 homes in November, significantly higher than the 62 homes started a year ago. This increase was due to the jump in apartment starts, which are above the 10-year average in response to strong demand from downsizing seniors, young households, immigrants and students. The rental market in Guelph is tight with a vacancy rate of 1.2 per cent. The strong demand for rental apartments has translated into more apartment starts. Single-detached and townhouse starts are lower this year. Fewer lowrise new home sales this year have translated into lower starts.Kitchener-Cambridge-WaterlooKitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo builders started 658 homes in November, significantly higher than the 222 homes started a year ago. For the first 11 months of 2017, single-detached starts are lower, while starts for townhouses are up 51 per cent and for apartments, 26 per cent. Demographics are playing a role in new home construction, as there has been a shift to smaller households. One-person households, couples without children households and lone-parent households are increasing at a much faster pace than couples with children households, which stimulates demand for affordable options such as townhouses and apartments.LondonTotal housing starts in London CMA posted one of the highest levels ever recorded for the month of November. Strong population growth and a low supply of resale home listings have strengthened demand for new single-detached homes, resulting in a 13 year high for single-detached starts during the month of November. In addition, stronger rental demand this year, indicated by the lowest vacancy rate since 2001, has already led to a higher number of apartment starts this year than the annual record set in 2016.VancouverSeasonally adjusted monthly starts in the Vancouver CMA were lower in November mostly due to a pullback in apartment starts as the construction sector remains at full capacity. Fewer multi-family condo and rental projects are getting underway in the City of Vancouver, Richmond, and on the North Shore, meanwhile, Burnaby and New Westminster have observed higher multi-family starts so far in 2017, relative to the same period last year.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 Canada’s housing market. In some situations, analyzing only SAAR data can be misleading, as they are largely driven by the multi-unit segment of the market, which can vary significantly from one month to the next.The standalone monthly SAAR of housing starts for all areas in Canada was 252,184 units in November, up from 222,695 units in October. The SAAR of urban starts increased by 14.4 per cent in November to 235,412 units. Multiple urban starts increased by 16.9 per cent to 175,016 units in November. Single-detached urban starts increased by 7.5 per cent, to 60,396 units.Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 16,772 units.As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers objective housing research and information to Canadian governments, consumers and the housing industry.Preliminary Housing Start Data in Centres 10,000 Population and Over | |||||||||||
Single-Detached | All Others | Total | |||||||||
Nov. 2016 | Nov. 2017 | % | Nov. 2016 | Nov. 2017 | % | Nov. 2016 | Nov. 2017 | % | |||
Provinces (10,000+) | |||||||||||
N.-L. | 66 | 55 | -17 | 27 | 57 | 111 | 93 | 112 | 20 | ||
P.E.I. | 16 | 29 | 81 | 11 | 55 | 400 | 27 | 84 | 211 | ||
N.S. | 127 | 113 | -11 | 230 | 216 | -6 | 357 | 329 | -8 | ||
N.B. | 62 | 83 | 34 | 65 | 107 | 65 | 127 | 190 | 50 | ||
Atlantic | 271 | 280 | 3 | 333 | 435 | 31 | 604 | 715 | 18 | ||
Qc | 520 | 546 | 5 | 2,325 | 3,536 | 52 | 2,845 | 4,082 | 43 | ||
Ont. | 2,672 | 2,303 | -14 | 2,466 | 6,202 | 152 | 5,138 | 8,505 | 66 | ||
Man. | 190 | 202 | 6 | 309 | 303 | -2 | 499 | 505 | 1 | ||
Sask. | 188 | 141 | -25 | 81 | 186 | 130 | 269 | 327 | 22 | ||
Alta. | 1,016 | 1,000 | -2 | 1,027 | 1,774 | 73 | 2,043 | 2,774 | 36 | ||
Prairies | 1,394 | 1,343 | -4 | 1,417 | 2,263 | 60 | 2,811 | 3,606 | 28 | ||
B.C. | 832 | 1,005 | 21 | 2,826 | 2,813 | 0 | 3,658 | 3,818 | 4 | ||
Canada (10,000+) | 5,689 | 5,477 | -4 | 9,367 | 15,249 | 63 | 15,056 | 20,726 | 38 | ||
Metropolitan Areas | |||||||||||
Abbotsford-Mission | 15 | 57 | 280 | 5 | 112 | ## | 20 | 169 | ## | ||
Barrie | 44 | 83 | 89 | 12 | 73 | ## | 56 | 156 | 179 | ||
Belleville | ** | 34 | ## | ** | 18 | ## | ** | 52 | ## | ||
Brantford | 8 | 8 | - | 14 | 2 | -86 | 22 | 10 | -55 | ||
Calgary | 346 | 390 | 13 | 399 | 1,114 | 179 | 745 | 1,504 | 102 | ||
Edmonton | 436 | 400 | -8 | 550 | 526 | -4 | 986 | 926 | -6 | ||
Greater Sudbury | 12 | 18 | 50 | 2 | 6 | 200 | 14 | 24 | 71 | ||
Guelph | 16 | 19 | 19 | 46 | 250 | 443 | 62 | 269 | 334 | ||
Halifax | 46 | 51 | 11 | 195 | 171 | -12 | 241 | 222 | -8 | ||
Hamilton | 91 | 59 | -35 | 81 | 366 | 352 | 172 | 425 | 147 | ||
Kelowna | 93 | 88 | -5 | 51 | 145 | 184 | 144 | 233 | 62 | ||
Kingston | 38 | 11 | -71 | 7 | 11 | 57 | 45 | 22 | -51 | ||
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo | 97 | 88 | -9 | 125 | 570 | 356 | 222 | 658 | 196 | ||
Lethbridge | ** | 34 | ## | ** | 6 | ## | ** | 40 | ## | ||
London | 141 | 163 | 16 | 84 | 478 | 469 | 225 | 641 | 185 | ||
Moncton | 29 | 23 | -21 | 16 | 91 | 469 | 45 | 114 | 153 | ||
Montréal | 209 | 237 | 13 | 1,188 | 1,921 | 62 | 1,397 | 2,158 | 54 | ||
Oshawa | 43 | 111 | 158 | 78 | 188 | 141 | 121 | 299 | 147 | ||
Ottawa-Gatineau | 201 | 242 | 20 | 267 | 787 | 195 | 468 | 1,029 | 120 | ||
Gatineau | 24 | 48 | 100 | 77 | 33 | -57 | 101 | 81 | -20 | ||
Ottawa | 177 | 194 | 10 | 190 | 754 | 297 | 367 | 948 | 158 | ||
Peterborough | 27 | 16 | -41 | 9 | 0 | -100 | 36 | 16 | -56 | ||
Québec | 90 | 66 | -27 | 409 | 975 | 138 | 499 | 1,041 | 109 | ||
Regina | 68 | 36 | -47 | 30 | 102 | 240 | 98 | 138 | 41 | ||
Saguenay | 17 | 19 | 12 | 26 | 41 | 58 | 43 | 60 | 40 | ||
St. Catharines-Niagara | 122 | 110 | -10 | 28 | 132 | 371 | 150 | 242 | 61 | ||
Saint John | 6 | 25 | 317 | 6 | 2 | -67 | 12 | 27 | 125 | ||
St. John's | 54 | 42 | -22 | 24 | 52 | 117 | 78 | 94 | 21 | ||
Saskatoon | 99 | 79 | -20 | 25 | 60 | 140 | 124 | 139 | 12 | ||
Sherbrooke | 28 | 22 | -21 | 141 | 130 | -8 | 169 | 152 | -10 | ||
Thunder Bay | 12 | 16 | 33 | 2 | 12 | ## | 14 | 28 | 100 | ||
Toronto | 1,308 | 886 | -32 | 1,435 | 3,014 | 110 | 2,743 | 3,900 | 42 | ||
Trois-Rivières | 16 | 13 | -19 | 103 | 35 | -66 | 119 | 48 | -60 | ||
Vancouver | 379 | 497 | 31 | 2,272 | 2,141 | -6 | 2,651 | 2,638 | 0 | ||
Victoria | 69 | 67 | -3 | 199 | 156 | -22 | 268 | 223 | -17 | ||
Windsor | 77 | 45 | -42 | 63 | 96 | 52 | 140 | 141 | 1 | ||
Winnipeg | 166 | 153 | -8 | 291 | 291 | - | 457 | 444 | -3 | ||
Total | 4,403 | 4,208 | -4 | 8,183 | 14,074 | 72 | 12,586 | 18,282 | 45 | ||
Data for 2016 based on 2011 Census Definitions. | |||||||||||
Data for 2017 based on 2016 Census Definitions. | |||||||||||
Source: Market Analysis Centre, CMHC | |||||||||||
Preliminary Housing Start Data - Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates (SAAR) | |||||||||||
Single-Detached | All Others | Total | |||||||||
Oct.2017 | Nov.2017 | % | Oct.2017 | Nov.2017 | % | Oct.2017 | Nov.2017 | % | |||
Provinces (10,000+) | |||||||||||
N.L. | 517 | 526 | 2 | 511 | 612 | 20 | 1,028 | 1,138 | 11 | ||
P.E.I. | 480 | 284 | -41 | 252 | 660 | 162 | 732 | 944 | 29 | ||
N.S. | 1,226 | 1,047 | -15 | 1,180 | 2,420 | 105 | 2,406 | 3,467 | 44 | ||
N.B. | 813 | 789 | -3 | 2,154 | 1,266 | -41 | 2,967 | 2,055 | -31 | ||
Qc | 6,191 | 6,440 | 4 | 43,848 | 38,311 | -13 | 50,039 | 44,751 | -11 | ||
Ont. | 21,190 | 24,470 | 15 | 36,626 | 71,271 | 95 | 57,816 | 95,741 | 66 | ||
Man. | 2,384 | 2,414 | 1 | 1,968 | 3,636 | 85 | 4,352 | 6,050 | 39 | ||
Sask. | 1,825 | 1,570 | -14 | 3,372 | 2,232 | -34 | 5,197 | 3,802 | -27 | ||
Alta. | 11,960 | 11,078 | -7 | 15,416 | 21,100 | 37 | 27,376 | 32,178 | 18 | ||
B.C. | 9,604 | 11,778 | 23 | 44,341 | 33,508 | -24 | 53,945 | 45,286 | -16 | ||
Canada (10,000+) | 56,190 | 60,396 | 7 | 149,668 | 175,016 | 17 | 205,858 | 235,412 | 14 | ||
Canada (All Areas) | 69,161 | 73,247 | 6 | 153,536 | 178,937 | 17 | 222,695 | 252,184 | 13 | ||
Metropolitan Areas | |||||||||||
Abbotsford-Mission | 260 | 688 | 165 | 1,140 | 1,344 | 18 | 1,400 | 2,032 | 45 | ||
Barrie | 836 | 1,048 | 25 | 600 | 876 | 46 | 1,436 | 1,924 | 34 | ||
Belleville | 391 | 489 | 25 | 276 | 216 | -22 | 667 | 705 | 6 | ||
Brantford | 151 | 142 | -6 | 0 | 24 | ## | 151 | 166 | 10 | ||
Calgary | 4,465 | 4,178 | -6 | 6,816 | 13,368 | 96 | 11,281 | 17,546 | 56 | ||
Edmonton | 4,396 | 4,351 | -1 | 4,764 | 6,312 | 32 | 9,160 | 10,663 | 16 | ||
Greater Sudbury | 102 | 160 | 57 | 48 | 72 | 50 | 150 | 232 | 55 | ||
Guelph | 254 | 263 | 4 | 288 | 3,000 | ## | 542 | 3,263 | ## | ||
Halifax | 850 | 628 | -26 | 840 | 2,052 | 144 | 1,690 | 2,680 | 59 | ||
Hamilton | 708 | 752 | 6 | 1,080 | 4,392 | 307 | 1,788 | 5,144 | 188 | ||
Kelowna | 748 | 839 | 12 | 1,212 | 1,740 | 44 | 1,960 | 2,579 | 32 | ||
Kingston | 221 | 97 | -56 | 168 | 132 | -21 | 389 | 229 | -41 | ||
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo | 865 | 968 | 12 | 1,236 | 6,840 | 453 | 2,101 | 7,808 | 272 | ||
Lethbridge | 452 | 462 | 2 | 948 | 72 | -92 | 1,400 | 534 | -62 | ||
London | 1,632 | 1,858 | 14 | 504 | 5,736 | ## | 2,136 | 7,594 | 256 | ||
Moncton | 340 | 190 | -44 | 1,680 | 1,092 | -35 | 2,020 | 1,282 | -37 | ||
Montréal | 2,653 | 2,741 | 3 | 38,178 | 23,021 | -40 | 40,831 | 25,762 | -37 | ||
Oshawa | 491 | 1,485 | 202 | 3,096 | 2,256 | -27 | 3,587 | 3,741 | 4 | ||
Ottawa-Gatineau | 3,004 | 2,669 | -11 | 3,816 | 9,444 | 147 | 6,820 | 12,113 | 78 | ||
Gatineau | 423 | 471 | 11 | 504 | 396 | -21 | 927 | 867 | -6 | ||
Ottawa | 2,581 | 2,198 | -15 | 3,312 | 9,048 | 173 | 5,893 | 11,246 | 91 | ||
Peterborough | 249 | 191 | -23 | 48 | 0 | -100 | 297 | 191 | -36 | ||
Québec | 769 | 737 | -4 | 3,276 | 11,700 | 257 | 4,045 | 12,437 | 207 | ||
Regina | 521 | 399 | -23 | 1,212 | 1,224 | 1 | 1,733 | 1,623 | -6 | ||
Saguenay | 274 | 246 | -10 | 324 | 492 | 52 | 598 | 738 | 23 | ||
St. Catharines-Niagara | 870 | 1,101 | 27 | 2,376 | 1,584 | -33 | 3,246 | 2,685 | -17 | ||
Saint John | 189 | 279 | 48 | 48 | 24 | -50 | 237 | 303 | 28 | ||
St. John's | 368 | 391 | 6 | 504 | 624 | 24 | 872 | 1,015 | 16 | ||
Saskatoon | 1,094 | 887 | -19 | 1,884 | 720 | -62 | 2,978 | 1,607 | -46 | ||
Sherbrooke | 202 | 247 | 22 | 1,092 | 1,560 | 43 | 1,294 | 1,807 | 40 | ||
Thunder Bay | 114 | 149 | 31 | 360 | 144 | -60 | 474 | 293 | -38 | ||
Toronto | 6,975 | 9,040 | 30 | 21,048 | 36,168 | 72 | 28,023 | 45,208 | 61 | ||
Trois-Rivières | 188 | 176 | -6 | 348 | 420 | 21 | 536 | 596 | 11 | ||
Vancouver | 4,376 | 6,171 | 41 | 30,408 | 25,692 | -16 | 34,784 | 31,863 | -8 | ||
Victoria | 881 | 795 | -10 | 8,460 | 1,872 | -78 | 9,341 | 2,667 | -71 | ||
Windsor | 615 | 574 | -7 | 648 | 1,152 | 78 | 1,263 | 1,726 | 37 | ||
Winnipeg | 1,783 | 1,842 | 3 | 1,524 | 3,492 | 129 | 3,307 | 5,334 | 61 | ||
Data based on 2016 Census Definitions.Source: Market Analysis Centre, CMHC |