Housing starts decreased in July according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Units fell from 293,085 in June to 286,620 last month. The trend figures a six-month rolling average of the seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) in housing starts.
"The six-month trend in housing starts declined from June to July, reflecting the recent moderation in total starts from the highs recorded earlier this year," explained Bob Dugan, CMHC's head economist. "In July, higher single-detached SAAR starts failed to offset a decrease in multi-family SAAR starts in Canada's urban areas, leading to a decline in overall SAAR starts for the month. However, the level of activity remains elevated by historical standards, both on a trend and monthly SAAR basis. Among the markets of Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, only Toronto registered growth in total SAAR starts in July, driven once again by strong growth in the multi-family segment."
The agency uses the trend measure to accompany the housing SAAR starts to measure the fluctuations in monthly projections and gather a clearer interpretation of the country's housing market. Sometimes, looking at only SAAR statistics can be deceiving, as the multi-unit category generally drives the housing market and can seesaw month-to-month.
The SAAR of housing starts for all Canadian segments was 272,176 units last month, a 3.2% decrease from the 281,200 units amassed in June. Urban starts decreased to 249.001 units, or 0.65%. Multiple urban fell by 3.1% to 184,759 units in July as single detached urban starts increased by 7.1% to the tune of 64,242 units. Lastly, rural starts reached a total of 23,175 units last month
