Canada: Housing starts increase in September

Seasonally-adjusted annualized housing starts registered 197,300 units in September, according to the government-owned Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The figure marked a 0.5% increase over August’s 196,300 units and overshot market expectations of 196,100 units. The increase was driven largely by an increase in starts of condominiums.

The six-month moving average inched up 3.5% over the previous month, increasing from 191,100 units in August to 197,700 in September. The CMHC commented that, “the currently elevated level of condominium units under construction supports our view that condominium starts should trend lower over the coming months.”

According to its Q3 Housing Market Outlook, the CMHC estimates that housing starts will moderate to 184,800 units in 2014 and reach 183,100 units in 2015. FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast participants expect 188,180 housing starts in 2014. For 2015, the panel sees housing starts moderating to 181,083 units.