December 2016 Housing Starts in Hamilton CMA

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Jan. 10, 2017) - Housing starts in Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending up at 3,836 units in December compared to 2,833 units in November, 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.

"The trend in Hamilton CMA total housing starts was up primarily due to strong apartment starts in December 2016 compared to the previous month. The trend in single-detached housing starts was up although the increase was not as pronounced as in multi-unit housing starts," said Abdul Kargbo, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for Hamilton and Brantford CMAs. "The trend in multi-unit housing starts reached a record level in December 2016, reflecting strong first-time buyer demand. The record in December puts a crowning touch to the highest annual total housing starts since 2010."

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. In some situations, analysing only SAAR data can be misleading in some markets, as they are largely driven by the multiples segment of the markets which can be quite variable from one month to the next. The multiples segment includes apartments, rows and semi-detached homes.

The standalone monthly SAAR was 9,560 units in December, up from 2,113 units in November. Similar to the trend measure, the December increase in the SAAR measure was mostly due to an exceptionally high number of apartment starts compared to the previous month.

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.