The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts has reached 174,500 units in December 2009. This is an increase from the annual rate seen in November 2009, where it was 176,100 according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
Actual housing starts for 2009 shall be verified and reported in the January edition of Monthly Housing Statistics. They are expected to be lower due to lower monthly rates at the beginning of the year.
Chief economist, Bob Dugan at CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre noted that the improvement in housing starts was broad based in December. He went on to say that there were solid increased that occurred in both single and multiple starts to the end of the year.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 6.6% to 157,100 units in December. Urban multiple starts increased from 72,800 units to 77,000 units while single urban starts increased by 6.4% to 79,400 units.
December’s seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased by 17.8% in Quebec; 8.7% in British Columbia; 15% in Atlantic Canada; and 1.5% in Ontario.
In the Prairie region we have the seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts decrease by 3.8%.
Rural starts are estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17,400 units in December.
Jeff Markewich
Broker of Record with InfoMarket Group GMAC Real Estate
www.imgrealestate.ca
