The housing markets faded a bit in this country last month, according to figures released Monday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
CMHC's trend in housing starts was 208,525 units in February, compared to 211,153 units in January. The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.
According to CMHC Chief Economist Bob Dugan,“The national trend in housing starts declined in February, driven by lower-trending multi-unit starts.
"Single and multi-unit starts in Toronto both trended lower, while activity in Montréal declined due to lower-trending multi-unit starts. This offset a slight up-tick in Vancouver, which follows four consecutive declines in that CMA.”
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.
