The trend in new home starts in Canada was down in February (208,525) from January (211,153), according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC). The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates of housing starts.
“The national trend in housing starts declined in February, driven by lower-trending multi-unit starts,” says Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist. “Single and multi-unit starts in Toronto trended lower, while activity in Montreal declined due to lower-trending multi-unit starts. This offset a slight uptick in Vancouver.”
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.
The trend in the Calgary census metropolitan area (CMA) was also down slightly. February’s trend was 13,617 units, down from 14,247 in January.
On a year-over-year basis, actual starts in the CMA were up in February. Here’s a closer look at the numbers
| STARTS | Feb. 2020 | Feb. 2019 | YTD 2020 | YTD 2019 |
| Single-family | 298 | 207 | 557 | 476 |
| Semi-detached | 98 | 74 | 158 | 136 |
| Row | 116 | 86 | 233 | 238 |
| Apartments | 134 | 235 | 340 | 408 |
| Total | 646 | 602 | 1,288 | 1,302 |
| UNDER CONSTRUCTION | INVENTORY | |
| Single-family | 2,093 | 610 |
| Semi-detached | 716 | 336 |
| Row | 1,449 | 416 |
| Apartment | 6,876 | 992 |
| Total | 11,136 | 2,354 |
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
