October 2012 Housing Starts in Guelph

Real Estate — November 8, 2012

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Nov. 8, 2012) - Housing starts in the Guelph Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 940 units in October, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR)(1) of housing starts. The standalone monthly SAAR was 210 units in October, down from 2,320 in September.

"With a tight resale home market, there is more spillover to the new home market. As a result, housing starts have increased this year. Consumers looking for more affordable types of housing boosted demand for townhouse and apartments this year. First-time buyers, immigrants, one-person households, young adult households and downsizing baby boomers are attracted to the more affordable townhouses and apartments, said Erica McLerie, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for Guelph.

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. The multiples segment includes apartments, rows and semi-detached homes.

Construction began on 16 homes in October, down from the 35 units started last year. Builders started only 8 single-detached homes in October, down from the 10 homes started a year ago. Townhouse starts decreased to 8 units from the 25 units started in October 2011. Due to increased activity for all housing types, especially townhouse and apartment construction, starts in the first ten months of 2012, have outpaced the starts in the same period of 2011.

Preliminary Housing Starts data is also available in English and French at the following link: Preliminary Housing Starts Tables

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 65 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable housing solutions. CMHC also provides reliable, impartial and up-to-date housing market reports, analysis and knowledge to support and assist consumers and the housing industry in making informed decisions.

(1) All starts figures in this release, other than actual starts and the trend estimate, are seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) - that is, monthly figures adjusted to remove normal seasonal variation and multiplied by 12 to reflect annual levels. By removing seasonal ups and downs, seasonal adjustment allows for a comparison from one season to the next and from one month to the next. Reporting monthly figures at annual rates indicates the annual level of starts that would be obtained if the monthly pace was maintained for 12 months. This facilitates comparison of the current pace of activity to annual forecasts as well as to historical annual levels.

Additional data is available upon request.

(Ce document existe également en français)

A graph is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/GuelphCMAENG.pdf

Preliminary Housing Start Data
October / 2011-2012
Guelph, CMA(1)			October 2011	October 2012
	Actual
		Oct - Single-Detached	10	8
		Oct - Multiples	25	8
		Oct - Total	35	16
		Jan to Oct - Single-Detached	218	220
		Jan to Oct - Multiples	345	431
		Jan to Oct - Total	563	651
			September 2012	October 2012
	SAAR(2)
		Total	2,320	210

Source: CMHC
(1)Census Metropolitan Area
(2)Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates
Detailed data available upon request.

Guelph Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data by Type
October / 2011-2012
Guelph, CMA(1)	Single		Semi		Row		Apt		Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Sub-Markets
Guelph City	9	7	0	0	25	8	0	0	34	15
Guelph-Eramosa Township	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Puslinch Township	NA	0	NA	0	NA	0	NA	0	NA	0

Total Guelph CMA Starts	10	8	0	0	25	8	0	0	35	16
Guelph Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data by Type
Year-to-Date / 2011-2012
Guelph, CMA(1)	Single		Semi		Row		Apt		Total
	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Sub-Markets
Guelph City	203	190	42	44	137	193	166	194	548	621
Guelph-Eramosa Township	15	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	9
Puslinch Township	NA	21	NA	0	NA	0	NA	0	NA	21

Total Guelph CMA Starts	218	220	42	44	137	193	166	194	563	651

(1) Census Metropolitan Area

Contact Information

Market Analysis Contact:
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Erica McLerie
416-218-3318
emclerie@cmhc.ca

Media Contact:
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Beth Bailey
416-218-3355
bbailey@cmhc.ca