Housing Starts Recover in November says CMHC

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 222,100 units in November, up from 206,800 units in October, according to CMHC.

"New residential construction activity displayed resilience in November, regaining most of the territory lost the previous month. Strong employment and income gains, coupled with low mortgage rates continue to bolster consumer confidence and demand for homes," said CMHC's Chief Economist. "While demand for new homes remains strong, rising mortgage carrying costs will cause housing starts to fall short of the peak set in 2004."

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts rose 8.6% to 192,500 units in November with increases in both single and multiple starts. Multiples were up 14.6% to 101,200, while single starts advanced 2.7 per cent to 91,300 units in November compared to October.

Ontario led the country with a 36.9% jump in the seasonally adjusted annualized rate of urban housing starts in November to 74,600 units, due in large part to a recovery in the volatile multiples segment in Toronto. Urban housing starts in November in the Prairies were up 3.1% to 39,600 units. Activity was down on both coasts with the seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts in British Columbia falling 13.8% to 29,900 units and 19.4% to 7,900 units in the Atlantic region.

For the first 11 months of 2005, actual urban starts were 5.9% lower than in the same period in 2004. Year-to-date single starts decreased 10.7%, while multiple starts declined 1.0% vs. the same period the previous year.


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