2005 Housing Starts Rank Second Highest Since
1988
OTTAWA, Ontario, January 10, 2006 —
The
seasonally adjusted annual rate1 of
housing starts was 227,700 units in December, up
slightly from 225,000 units in November, according
to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
"2005 was another excellent year for residential
construction. Thanks to low mortgage rates, healthy
labour markets and steady income growth, housing
starts in 2005 posted their second highest level
since 1988," said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at
CMHC’s Market Analysis Centre. "Total housing starts
for 2005 were estimated at 223,900 units, a decrease
of 4.1 per cent, compared to 2004. Starts will
continue to ease to 207,200 units this year due to a
slight rise in mortgage rates and more balanced
conditions in the existing home market. Still, 2006
will be the fifth consecutive year in which housing
starts exceed the 200,000 unit threshold."
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban
starts rose 1.4 per cent to 198,100 units in
December compared to the previous month, due to a
3.5 per cent increase in single starts to 97,800
units. Multiple starts were down 0.6 per cent to
100,300 units in December compared to November.
Lower multiple starts were behind the decline in
the seasonally adjusted annual rate of total urban
starts in three out of five regions across Canada.
Urban housing starts eased in the Atlantic (-8.8 per
cent), the Prairies (-7.0 per cent), and Quebec
(-0.5 per cent ). Urban housing starts were up 4.4
per cent in Ontario and 10.8 per cent in British
Columbia during the last month of the year.
Rural starts in December were estimated at a
seasonally adjusted annual rate of 29,600 units.
For the year 2005, the decrease in actual urban
starts (5.4 per cent) more than offset the increase
in rural starts. Hence, actual total starts
decreased (4.1 per cent) compared with 2004.
1.
All starts figures in this release, other
than actual starts, are seasonally adjusted annual
rates (SAAR)-that is, monthly figures adjusted to
remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by
12 to reflect annual levels.
Information on this release:
Bob Dugan
CMHC
(613) 748-4009
bdugan@cmhc-schl.gc.ca
For regional starts information contact:
| Housing Starts, Actual
and SAAR* |
| |
November 2005
Final December
|
2005
Preliminary
|
| |
Actual |
SAAR |
Actual |
SAAR |
| Canada, all areas |
20,250 |
225,000 |
17,524 |
227,700 |
| Canada, rural areas |
2,614 |
29,600 |
2,241 |
29,600 |
| Canada, urban centres** |
17,636 |
195,400 |
15,283 |
198,100 |
| Canada, singles, urban centres |
7,954 |
94,500 |
7,265 |
97,800 |
| Canada, multiples, urban centres |
9,682 |
100,900 |
8,018 |
100,300 |
| |
| Atlantic region, urban centres |
740 |
8,000 |
619 |
7,300 |
| Quebec, urban centres |
3,995 |
40,700 |
3,434 |
40,500 |
| Ontario, urban centres |
6,927 |
75,700 |
5,811 |
79,000 |
| Prairie region, urban centres |
3,467 |
41,300 |
2,917 |
38,400 |
| British Columbia, urban centres |
2,507 |
29,700 |
2,502 |
32,900 |
Source: CMHC
*Seasonally adjusted annual rates
** Urban centres with a population of 10,000 persons
and over.
Detailed data available upon request.
Source: Canada Mortgage and Housing
Corporation (CMHC) |