Housing starts in the Kelowna Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were trending at 1,411 units in November compared to 1,214 units in October, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.
“Housing starts trended upwards across all segments of Kelowna’s housing market in November with growth concentrated around townhouse and apartment units,” said Sarena Teakles, CMHC senior market analyst.
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, analyzing only SAAR data can be misleading in some markets, as the stats are largely driven by the multiples segment of the markets which can vary widely from month to month.
The stand-alone monthly SAAR was 2,412 units in November, compared to 1,048 units in October.
Similar trends for new housing starts were also registered in Kamloops, Vernon and Prince George.
