December 2012 Housing Starts in Hamilton CMA

Real Estate — January 9, 2013

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Jan. 9, 2013) - Housing starts in Hamilton, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 2,354 units in December, 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 2,162 units in December, down from 2,823 units in November.

"Hamilton's total housing starts were down in December 2012 from the same month a year ago. However, after twelve months, starts of all housing types increased from the previous year. Low mortgage rates, positive migration flows and fewer listings on the existing home market supported residential construction activity in 2012 - particularly during the first half of the year," said Abdul Kargbo, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for Hamilton and Brantford CMAs.

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.

In December 2012, housing starts were down across all dwelling types compared to the same month a year earlier. In fact, no semi-detached and apartment starts occurred anywhere in the Hamilton CMA in December 2012. Between January and December 2012, total housing starts finished the year at 2,969 actual units, up from 2,462 units tallied in 2011. On a sub-market basis, in 2012 total housing starts in Burlington and the City of Hamilton were higher than they were in 2011. Meanwhile, residential construction activity in Grimsby finished 2012 below the previous year's level.

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.

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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.

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To view the tables and graph associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/cmhchamiltongraphandtables.pdf.

Contact Information

Market Analysis Contact:
Abdul Kargbo
416-250-3294
akargbo@cmhc.ca

Media Contact:
Beth Bailey
416-218-3355
bbailey@cmhc.ca