Housing starts stable

Housing starts are rising steadily across Canada.

In February, 192,236 units were under construction, compared to 191,513 the previous month, says the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

“The [upward] trend in housing starts remained stable in February,” says Mathieu Laberge, deputy chief economist of CMHC. “Since August 2013, the [starts have] remained in the 185,000 to 195,000 range, with month-to-month variations generally of 2% or less. This is in line with CMHC’s outlook calling for a stable housing market in 2014.”

CMHC also uses the monthly SAAR of housing starts to measure performance. In February, the standalone monthly SAAR was 192,094 units, an increase from 180,481 in January.

The SAAR of urban starts increased by 7.5% in February to 175,584 units.

In February, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased in Atlantic Canada and Quebec, while they were stable in Ontario. Starts decreased in the Prairies and British Columbia.

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