Canadian Starts Increase in May

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of Canadian housing starts increased to 128,400 units in May from 117,600 units in April, in line with expectations that the market will see gradual improvement going forward. "Housing starts are expected to improve through 2009 and over the next several years to gradually become more closely aligned to demographic demand," the CMHC said. The corporation added that it currently estimates demographic demand to be at about 175,000 units per year. Bob Dugan, CMHC's chief economist, said the overall increase seen during May was "broadly based" and consisted of increases within both the single-family and multifamily markets. In urban areas, both multifamily and single-family starts increased by 11.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis during the month. Regionally, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of growth was greatest in Ontario, where it was 22.0%. It was slowest in Quebec, where starts increased only 3.3%.