Housing starts in Canada were trending at 184,514 units in June compared to 184,087 in May, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts. 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 the state of the housing market.
The standalone monthly SAAR was 199,586 units in June, a decrease from 204,616 in May. The SAAR of urban starts decreased by 2.7 per cent in June to 177,085 units, as both the single and multiple urban starts segments declined in June. Specifically, single urban starts decreased by 4.1 percent to 62,743 units in June while the multiple urban starts segment decreased by 2 percent to 114,342 units.
Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 22,501 units in June.
"As expected, the trend in total housing starts remained essentially stable in June, for a third consecutive month. This reflects general stability in regional trends over the same period. As a result, the trend in national housing activity remains close to its historical average and is in-line with estimates of household formation," said Mathieu Laberge, Deputy Chief Economist at CMHC. "In June, gains in housing starts in British Columbia were offset by declines in other regions of the country."