Ontario housing starts declines for December

The trend for housing starts in December 2019 was just 212,160–down from November’s 219,921 units.

This represents a decrease of 3.5 per cent.

The trend for housing starts in December 2019 was just 212,160–down from November’s 219,921 units.

This represents a decrease of 3.5 per cent.

“The national trend in housing starts decreased in December,” Bob Dugan, the chief economist for Canadian Housing and Mortgage CMHC, said in a news release.

“The declines are primarily led by lower-trending multi-family starts in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. However, the stable starts at year-end in Vancouver and significant growth in Calgary helped to partially offset the declines in other major centres,” he continued.

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 Canada’s housing market. In some situations, analyzing only SAAR data can be misleading, as they are largely driven by the multi-unit segment of the market which can vary significantly from one month to the next.

The standalone monthly SAAR of housing starts for all areas in Canada was 197,329 units in December, a decrease of three per cent from 204,320 units in November. The SAAR of urban starts decreased by four per cent in December to 185,934 units. Multiple urban starts decreased by five per cent to 138,049 units in December while single-detached urban starts increased by one per cent to 47,885 units.

Additionally, rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 11,395 units.