Ottawa Housing Starts Down Marginally in May

The seasonally adjusted annual rate(1) of housing starts was 216,800 units in May, down marginally from 217,900 units in April.

Housing starts last month were nearly unchanged from their April level. May marks
the fourth consecutive month in which single detached starts have moved lower.
Housing starts are expected to continue to trend marginally lower throughout
this year and next as housing demand eases in response to rising mortgage
carrying costs.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts decreased 0.6 % to 185,700 units. Urban singles were down 1.3 % to 89,200 units comparing May to April, while multiples were up 0.1 % to 96,500 units.

Urban housing starts increased in May compared to April in three of the five regions and declined in the other two. The Prairie region recorded the strongest increase with urban starts rising 9.0 per cent while Ontario and Quebec urban starts were up 6.4 % and 3.3 %, respectively.

Rural starts in May were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 31,100 units.

In the first five months of 2006, actual urban starts were up 4.7 % compared to the same period last year. Year-to-date actual urban multiple starts were up 6.9 % and singles were up 2.5 % compared to the same period in 2005.