Housing Market Indicators

Definitions

New housing price index

New Housing Price Index (NHPI)Opens a new window is a monthly series that measures changes over time in the contractors' selling prices of new residential houses, where detailed specifications pertaining to each house remain the same between two consecutive periods. The survey covers the following dwelling types: single homes, semi-detached homes and townhouses.

Building permits

The monthly Building Permits (BPER)Opens a new window survey collects data on the value of permits issued by Canadian municipalities for both residential and non-residential buildings, and the number of residential dwellings authorized. The survey also measures the number of dwelling units demolished. Building Permit data are widely used as a leading indicator for the construction industry since the issuance of a building permit is one of the first steps in the construction process.

Housing starts

A housing start is defined as the beginning of construction work on a building, usually when the concrete has been poured for the whole of the footing around the structure, or an equivalent stage where a basement will not be part of the structure. For survey methodology, visit the Housing Market Information PortalOpens a new window from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Housing completions

A housing completion is defined as the stage at which all the proposed construction work on a dwelling unit has been performed, although under some circumstances a dwelling may be counted as completed where up to 10 per cent of the proposed work remains to be done. For survey methodology, visit the Housing Market Information PortalOpens a new window from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Shelter price index

The Shelter price index tracks price changes related to the costs of owning or renting a home. It is one of the 8 major components in the Consumer Price Index (CPI)Opens a new window and, among them, it is the most heavily weighted component, making up over a quarter of the total CPI basket weight (as of the 2015 Basket). Shelter is composed of various sub-components, such as rent, electricity, mortgage interest cost, homeowner’s replacement cost and homeowner’s home and mortgage insurance.

Population 15+

Number of persons of working age, 15 years of age and over. Estimates in thousands, rounded to the nearest hundred. For definitions, data sources and methods, consult the Labour Force Survey (LFS)Opens a new window.

Employment

Number of persons who, during the reference week, worked for pay or profit, or performed unpaid family work or had a job but were not at work due to own illness or disability, personal or family responsibilities, labour dispute, vacation, or other reason. Those persons on layoff and persons without work but who had a job to start at a definite date in the future are not considered employed. Estimates in thousands, rounded to the nearest hundred. For definitions, data sources and methods, consult the Labour Force Survey (LFS)Opens a new window.

Census metropolitan area

A census metropolitan area (CMA) is a large population centre (known as core) together with adjacent fringe and rural areas that have a high degree of social and economic integration with the cores. A CMA has a population of at least 100,000.

Seasonal adjustment

A seasonally adjusted time series is a monthly or quarterly time series that has been modified to eliminate the effect of seasonal and calendar influences. The seasonally adjusted data allow for more meaningful comparisons of economic conditions from period to period. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questionsOpens a new window.

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