REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN--(Marketwired - Feb 8, 2017) - Housing starts in the Regina Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 1,771 units in January compared to 1,898 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) of total housing starts.

"The trend in total housing starts moved lower in January after a slightly higher pace of single-detached construction was more than offset by a declining trend in multi-unit production. Following a year of relatively steady production, local home builders will be keen to take advantage of any improvement in economic conditions in 2017, while still focussing on drawing down excess inventory of multi-unit dwellings," said Goodson Mwale, CMHC's Senior Market Analyst for Saskatchewan.

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, analyzing 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 1,576 units in January, down from 1,916 in December. While the SAAR measure decreased from the previous month, total actual housing starts were nearly double in January 2017 than a year ago, after both singles and multiples sectors posted significant gains.

Preliminary Housing Starts data is also available in English and French at the following link: Preliminary Housing Starts Tables

As Canada's authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers objective housing research and information to Canadian governments, consumers and the housing industry.

For more information, visit our website at www.cmhc.ca or follow us on Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Additional data is available upon request

(Ce document existe également en français)

To view the graph and tables associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1085216e.pdf

Media Contact
Renee Nat, Public Affairs Advisor
403-605-5094
rnat@cmhc-schl.gc.ca