January housing starts

OTTAWA , Feb. 8 /CNW Telbec/ - The seasonally adjusted annual rate(1) of housing starts reached 186,300 units in January 2010 . This is an increase from an annual rate of 176,100 units in December 2009 , according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). According to final figures, actual housing starts for 2009 totalled 149,081 units, with activity improving as the year progressed.

"Housing starts improved in both the singles and multiples segments in January," said Bob Dugan , Chief Economist at CMHC's Market Analysis Centre. "These increases are similar to the ones that occurred in December."

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 4.4 per cent to 165,200 units in January. Urban multiple starts increased by 5.7 per cent to 76,300 units while single urban starts increased by 3.3 per cent to 88,900 units.

January's seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 19.8 per cent in British Columbia, by 7.3 per cent in Quebec , by 2.3 per cent in Atlantic Canada , and by 1.5 per cent in the Ontario. In the Prairie region, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts decreased by 4.8 per cent.

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 21,100 units in January(2).

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable homes. 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 vital decisions.

For more information, visit www.cmhc.ca or call 1-800-668-2642.

This release is also available on the CMHC Web site: http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca

(Ce document existe également en français)

To view graph of "Housing Starts in Canada - All Areas" please click http://files.newswire.ca/226/HousingStartsEng.doc

    
                     Housing Starts, Actual and SAAR*

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                Actual             SAAR
                                    -----------------------------------------
                                        January   January  December  January
                                           2009      2010      2009     2010
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                  Prelimi-           Prelimi-
                                          Final      nary     Final     nary
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Canada, all areas                     8,096    10,952   176,100  186,300
      Canada, rural areas                   787       734    17,800   21,100
      Canada, urban centres(xx)           7,309    10,218   158,300  165,200
        Canada, singles, urban centres    2,605     4,723    86,100   88,900
        Canada, multiples, urban centres  4,704     5,495    72,200   76,300

        Atlantic region, urban centres      355       424     8,800    9,000
        Quebec, urban centres             1,997     2,911    45,100   48,400
        Ontario, urban centres            2,892     3,330    52,500   53,300
        Prairie region, urban centres     1,143     1,854    31,200   29,700
        British Columbia, urban centres     922     1,699    20,700   24,800
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Source: CMHC
    *  Seasonally adjusted annual rates
    (xx) Urban centres with a population of 10,000 and over.
         Detailed data available upon request.

    ----------------------------------
    (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.
    (2) CMHC estimates the level of rural starts for each of the three months
        of the quarter, at the beginning of each quarter. During the last
        month of the quarter, CMHC conducts the survey in rural areas and
        revises the estimate
    

For further information: Information on this release: Charles Sauriol, CMHC Media Relations, [phone], [email protected]; For regional starts information contact: Atlantic provinces: Alex MacDonald, CMHC, [phone], [email protected]; Quebec: Kevin Hughes, CMHC, [phone], [email protected]; Ontario: Ted Tsiakopoulos, CMHC, [phone], [email protected]; Prairie provinces: Lai Sing Louie, CMHC, [phone], [email protected]; British Columbia: Robyn Adamache, CMHC, [phone], [email protected]