THUNDER BAY – REAL ESTATE – Housing starts in Thunder Bay Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 194 units in September, up from 161 units in August 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.
“The latest data shows that housing starts activity continues to trend up slightly, but at levels considered to be below average when considering medium to long term averages. Flat employment conditions have hampered housing starts so far this year in Thunder Bay,” concluded Warren Philp, CMHC Market Analyst for the Thunder Bay CMA.
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 standalone monthly SAAR was 214 units in September down from 249 units in August due weaker singles starts.
Preliminary Housing Starts data is also available in English and French at the following link: Preliminary Housing Starts Tables.
