October 2012 Housing Starts in Brantford CMA

Real Estate — November 8, 2012

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Nov. 8, 2012) - Housing starts in Brantford, Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 375 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 353 units in October, down from 360 units in September.

"Total housing starts were down in October 2012 compared to the same month in 2011. The more volatile multiple-housing segment was completely responsible for the decline in Brandford's total housing starts this October," said Abdul Kargbo, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for the 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.

Single-detached housing starts, which are less volatile and therefore a better indicator of the trend in construction activity, increased in October 2012 compared to the same month a year earlier. The strong performance in single-detached starts this October marked four consecutive monthly increases in construction activity for this type of dwelling. Within the multiple-housing segment, in October 2012, semi-detached starts edged up while no construction activity occurred for row or apartment structures. On a sub-market basis, between January and October 2012, total housing starts in Brant City advanced by double digits, while total residential construction activity in Brantford City remained below the number of units reported during the first ten months 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.

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A graphic is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/CMHC_Brantforda1107.pdf

Preliminary Housing Start Data
October / 2011-2012
Brantford, CMA¹			October 2011	October 2012
	Actual
		October - Single-Detached	26	32
		October - Multiples	29	2
		October - Total	55	34
	January to October - Single-Detached		180	234
		January to October - Multiples	155	95
		January to October - Total	335	329
			September 2012	October 2012
	SAAR²
		Total	360	353

Source: CMHC

¹ Census Metropolitan Area

² Seasonally Adjusted at Annual Rates

Detailed data available upon request.

Brantford Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data by Type
October / 2011-2012
Brantford, CMA¹		Single		Semi		Row		Apt		Total
		2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Brant City		11	11	0	0	14	0	0	0	25	11
Brantford City		15	21	0	2	15	0	0	0	30	23


	Total Brantford CMA Starts	26	32	0	2	29	0	0	0	55	34

Brantford Preliminary Actual Housing Start Data by Type
January to October / 2011-2012
Brantford, CMA¹		Single		Semi		Row		Apt		Total
		2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012	2011	2012
Brant City		72	91	0	2	14	5	0	0	86	98
Brantford City		108	143	4	10	76	78	61	0	249	231


	Total Brantford CMA Starts	180	234	4	12	90	83	61	0	335	329

¹Census Metropolitan Area

Contact Information

Market Analysis Contact:
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Edward Heese
416-218-3369
eheese@cmhc.ca

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