October housing starts

OTTAWA , Nov. 9 /CNW Telbec/ - The seasonally adjusted annual rate(1) of housing starts reached 157,300 units in October. This is an increase from 149,300 units started in September, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

"The improvement in housing starts in October is attributable to improvement in the multiple starts segment," said Bob Dugan , Chief Economist at CMHC's Market Analysis Centre. "Despite a small decline in single home starts in October, the level of single home starts remains at its second highest level since October 2008."

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 5.2 per cent to 139,900 units in October. Urban multiple starts climbed 13.8 per cent to 72,600 units, while urban single starts declined by 2.7 per cent to 67,300 units in October.

October's seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 15 per cent in British Columbia, by 14.8 per cent in Ontario, by 6.5 per cent in the Prairies and by 1.2 per cent in the Atlantic. The rate of urban starts decreased by 11.6 per cent in Quebec .

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17,400 units in October(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.

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                     Housing Starts, Actual and SAAR*
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                                             Actual              SAAR
                                     ----------------------------------------
                                       October   October  September  October
                                         2008      2009      2009      2009
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                                                 Prelimi-            Prelimi-
                                        Final     nary      Final     nary
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Canada, all areas                   19,597    15,828   149,300   157,300
      Canada, rural areas                2,208     1,738    16,300    17,400
      Canada, urban centres(xx)         17,389    14,090   133,000   139,900
        Canada, singles, urban centres   6,411     6,536    69,200    67,300
        Canada, multiples,
         urban centres                  10,978     7,554    63,800    72,600

        Atlantic region, urban centres     950       788     8,100     8,200
        Quebec, urban centres            4,144     3,065    36,100    31,900
        Ontario, urban centres           7,403     5,940    48,500    55,700
        Prairie region, urban centres    2,516     2,771    26,300    28,000
        British Columbia, urban centres  2,376     1,526    14,000    16,100
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Source: CMHC
    *  Seasonally adjusted annual rates
    (xx) Urban centres with a population of 10,000 and over.
         Detailed data available upon request.

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    (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]; This release is also available on the CMHC Web site: http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca; 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: Carol Frketich, CMHC, [phone], [email protected]