P.E.I. housing starts fall

The trend is a six-month moving average

Housing starts in Prince Edward Island’s urban areas were trending at 485 units in December, compared to 525 in November, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR)1 of housing starts.

“Multiples starts boosted total starts this year beyond 2014 figures for both Charlottetown and Summerside,” said Sarena Teakles, market analyst with CMHC’s Atlantic Market Analysis Centre in a recent news release.

“Growing demand for rental accommodations from international immigrants and downsizing retirees stimulated multiples starts in 2015,” she said.

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 105 units in December 2015, down from 392 units in November 2015.

CMHC offers objective housing research and information to Canadian governments, consumers and the housing industry.