Canadian housing starts rose 2.7% in May
Canadian housing starts rose 2.7% to 183,600 annualized units in May retracing most of the larger than expected 3.2% decline to 178,700 annualized units seen in April (revised from the initially reported 179,000). The monthly increase was slightly ahead of market expectations for a more moderate rise to 182,000 annualized units.
The increased pace of new home construction in May was concentrated in the volatile multiples and rural starts components. Urban multiple-unit starts rose 4.0% to 100,000 annualized units, effectively reversing the previous month’s 4.9% decline. Rural starts showed another wild monthly gyration, jumping 19.6% to 22,600 annualized units. This follows the 12.1% decline in April, 22.2% gain in March, and 17.4% drop in February. Disappointingly, the generally stabler urban-singles component provided some offset to these gains, falling 4.1% to 61,000 annualized units.
British Columbia’s housing market continued its blistering levels of activity with housing starts up 33.3% in May. Solid gains were also seen in Quebec (13.5%), Atlantic Canada (11.0%), and the Prairies (10.0%), while homebuilding in Ontario, the largest region, plunged 22.9%.
New home construction in Canada has held a steady pace since last fall, with the three-month moving average of housing starts remaining in a very tight range between 170,000 and 185,000 annualized units. While this pace of homebuilding is below pre-recession levels, it represents a return to a stable and sustainable pace, and we expect this sideways trend to continue for the foreseeable future, albeit at the upper end of this range.
David Onyett-Jeffries, Economist, RBC Economics
To view the economic data calendars with trend charts, go to:
http://www.rbc.com/economics/html_calendars/ca/calendar.html (Canada)
Canadian housing starts rose 2.7% to 183,600 annualized units in May retracing most of the larger than expected 3.2% decline to 178,700 annualized units seen in April (revised from the initially reported 179,000). The monthly increase was slightly ahead of market expectations for a more moderate rise to 182,000 annualized units.
The increased pace of new home construction in May was concentrated in the volatile multiples and rural starts components. Urban multiple-unit starts rose 4.0% to 100,000 annualized units, effectively reversing the previous month’s 4.9% decline. Rural starts showed another wild monthly gyration, jumping 19.6% to 22,600 annualized units. This follows the 12.1% decline in April, 22.2% gain in March, and 17.4% drop in February. Disappointingly, the generally stabler urban-singles component provided some offset to these gains, falling 4.1% to 61,000 annualized units.
British Columbia’s housing market continued its blistering levels of activity with housing starts up 33.3% in May. Solid gains were also seen in Quebec (13.5%), Atlantic Canada (11.0%), and the Prairies (10.0%), while homebuilding in Ontario, the largest region, plunged 22.9%.
New home construction in Canada has held a steady pace since last fall, with the three-month moving average of housing starts remaining in a very tight range between 170,000 and 185,000 annualized units. While this pace of homebuilding is below pre-recession levels, it represents a return to a stable and sustainable pace, and we expect this sideways trend to continue for the foreseeable future, albeit at the upper end of this range.
David Onyett-Jeffries, Economist, RBC Economics
To view the economic data calendars with trend charts, go to:
http://www.rbc.com/economics/html_calendars/ca/calendar.html (Canada)
Comments