Housing starts in the province of Quebec were trending at 31,061 units in May compared to 32,619 in April, 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.
“In Quebec urban centres, year-to-date residential housing starts are down by 26 per cent from last year. The magnitude of this decrease reflects both the situation of single-detached homes and multi-family dwellings. Moreover, the majority of the province’s major centres present a similar picture,” said Kevin Hughes, CMHC Regional Economist for the province of Quebec.
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.
“In Quebec urban centres, year-to-date residential housing starts are down by 26 per cent from last year. The magnitude of this decrease reflects both the situation of single-detached homes and multi-family dwellings. Moreover, the majority of the province’s major centres present a similar picture,” said Kevin Hughes, CMHC Regional Economist for the province of Quebec.
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.