Housing starts dropped by 31 percent in Abbotsford-Mission in January compared to January of 2013 and the numbers are miniscule for a Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) the size of Abbotsford-Mission.
In all of Abbotsford-Mission a total of 10 single detached homes were begun in January compared to only 15 last year.
The number of all other housing starts in the area stayed the same at 1.
Western Canadian centers saw a mixed bag of increases and decreases with only Calgary and Saskatoon dropping by jigher percentages than Abbotsford.
Only [Kingston, Moncton, Saguenay, Saint John, Sherbrooke, Thunder Bay amd Trois Rivieres had numbers as low as Abbotsford-Mission.
Vancouver -15%
Victoria + 273%
Kelowna +19%
Edmonton + 136%
Calgary -44%
Saskatoon -59%
Regina -13%
Winnipeg + 175%%
Economic development was a key plank in the platform of both Mayor-Elect Henry Braun and the four new councilors from AbbotsfordFIRST.
Housing starts are one of the biggest drivers of economic activity in the economy.
View the CMHC tables here.
The National Picture
The trend measure of housing starts in Canada was 188,956 units in January compared to 191,627 in December, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR)1 of housing starts.
“The trend in total housing starts has been moderating since September 2014, reflecting lower trends in both multiple and single-detached starts,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s Chief Economist. “Overall, economic and demographic factors remain supportive of housing demand. The moderation in new home construction reflects inventory management by builders and is in line with CMHC’s expectations.”
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 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.
The standalone monthly SAAR was 187,276 units in January, up from 179,637 units in December. The SAAR of urban starts increased to 172,322 in January, from 161,940 in December. The increase was led by multiple urban starts, which increased to 115,008 units in January from 102,384 in December, while single-detached urban starts decreased to 57,314 units from 59,556.
Urban housing starts saw relatively large gains in Atlantic Canada and the Prairies, while urban housing starts registered a modest gain in Ontario and declines in British Columbia and Québec.
Rural starts2 were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 14,954 units.
Preliminary Housing Starts data is also available in English and French at the following link:Preliminary Housing Starts Tables
As Canada’s authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers objective housing research and information to Canadian governments, consumers and the housing industry.
1 All starts figures in this release, other than actual starts and the trend estimate, are seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) — that is, monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels. By removing seasonal ups and downs, seasonal adjustment allows for a comparison from one season to the next and from one month to the next. Reporting monthly figures at annual rates indicates the annual level of starts that would be obtained if the monthly pace was maintained for 12 months. This facilitates comparison of the current pace of activity to annual forecasts as well as to historical annual levels.
2 CMHC estimates the level of starts in centres with a population of less than 10,000 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 these centres and revises the estimate.
Information on this release:
Karine LeBlanc
CMHC Media Relations
613-740-5413
kjleblan@cmhc-schl.gc.ca
Follow on Twitter @CMHC_ca
Additional data is available upon request.
| December 2014 | January 2015 | |
|---|---|---|
| Trend1, all areas | 191,627 | 188,956 |
| SAAR, all areas | 179,637 | 187,276 |
| SAAR, rural areas | 17,697 | 14,954 |
| SAAR, urban centres2 | ||
| Single-detached | 59,556 | 57,314 |
| Multiples | 102,384 | 115,008 |
| Total | 161,940 | 172,322 |
| Atlantic, urban centres2 | 5,377 | 7,794 |
| Quebec, urban centres2 | 29,408 | 26,819 |
| Ontario, urban centres2 | 56,798 | 59,316 |
| Prairies, urban centres2 | 41,192 | 53,326 |
| British Columbia, urban centres2 | 29,165 | 25,067 |
| Canada | January 2014 | January 2015 |
| Actual, all areas | 11,666 | 12,247 |
| Actual, rural areas | 677 | 625 |
| Actual, urban centres2 | ||
| January – Single-detached | 3,323 | 3,119 |
| January – Multiples | 7,666 | 8,503 |
| January – Total | 10,989 | 11,622 |
| January to January – Single-detached | 3,323 | 3,119 |
| January to January – Multiples | 7,666 | 8,503 |
| January to January – Total | 10,989 | 11,622 |
Source: CMHC
1 The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR).
2 Urban centres with a population of 10,000 and over.
Detailed data available upon request.