Canadian Housing Statistics Program (CHSP)

Detailed information for 2017

The CHSP will provide comprehensive information to monitor and analyze the Canadian housing market. Descriptive variables in the database will include property characteristics, (e.g., structure type, size, location), property owner characteristics (e.g., demographics, citizenship and residency status) and property financing (e.g., loan terms, outstanding debt).

Data release - December 19, 2017 (Preliminary data), June 25, 2018 (revised data)

• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy

Description

Statistics Canada was mandated to create a dynamic residential property database: a comprehensive repository of data that covers numerous aspects of the housing sector. The database, under the responsibility of the Canadian Housing Statistics Program (CHSP), will ultimately include all residential properties in Canada.

The Canadian Housing Statistics Program (CHSP) residential property database was developed by combining data from multiple sources (e.g., property assessment rolls, land titles, Census of Population, etc.) and provides detailed information at the property and owner levels.

The database, initialized in 2017, continues to be expanded with new geographies and variables and is expected to contain information for all properties in every census subdivision nationwide by December 2022.

Statistics Canada and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) are working closely together on various housing-related programs and initiatives which help support the CMHC's National Housing Strategy.

Collection period: The CHSP does not collect data from respondents. The program is based on already existing data.

Data sources and methodology

Target population

At the time of the June 2018 publication, the CHSP database contains information for the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. By 2022, the CHSP will provide a complete, timely and duplicate-free database of all residential properties in Canada.

The CHSP database does not currently contain information on Indian reserves nor collective dwellings. Foreign embassies in Canada are also excluded. While non-residential properties are not included in the database, the residential portion of mixed properties (mix of residential and non-residential) is retained.

Instrument design

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Sampling

The CHSP is a census of residential properties in Canada.

Data sources

Data are extracted from administrative files.

The CHSP leverages existing data from provincial-territorial land registries, property assessment programs and other administrative data files to create a database of all residential properties in Canada.

Property-level data are obtained from land registries and property assessment programs, while owner-level information is derived using land registries, property assessment programs and vital statistics.

The volume state date of the data is May 2017 for Ontario and June 2017 for British Columbia. The volume state date reflects the stock of properties at a precise point in time.

Concepts and terminology used to describe properties are distinct to a jurisdiction and the CHSP reconciles and standardizes the diversity of concepts. Broader derived variable categories harmonize the divergences.

The various administrative data files are linked through a record linkage process to create the CHSP residential property database.

Deterministic and probabilistic record linkage methods were implemented using custom software developed at Statistics Canada. G-Link, part of Statistics Canada's suite of Generalized Systems, was used to perform probabilistic record linkage, while SAS and Mix-Match software were used to perform deterministic linkage. Globally, linkage rates were in excess of 95%.

While every effort is being made to acquire relevant data, the database cannot presently address the following topics: vacancy rates; affordable housing; pre-sale of properties; beneficial ownership / proxy buyers / Illegal funds from outside the country; country of origin of non-resident owners.

Error detection

All microdata records contained in the CHSP are verified in order to identify possible errors (e.g., outliers, unexpected values or formatting issues). Validation edits are used to verify that each field contains values that fall within the allowable range for that data element. Correlation edits are used to check the compatibility of different data elements within a record.

The CHSP estimates undergo various levels of error detection from internal checks during data production, to post development sampling for detection of linkage errors. Data providers are extensively consulted with respect to the concepts and any data abnormalities pertaining to externally obtained files.

Imputation

Statistics Canada does not impute missing data on the CHSP database.

Estimation

Estimation methodology is not currently required.

Quality evaluation

A number of strategies have been developed and implemented to assess data quality and to minimize errors.

Data abnormalities are resolved in collaboration with data providers and by comparing aggregated values available from alternate sources.

The contents of administrative databases containing property information are compared between vintages to ensure consistency over time.

Steps were taken to consolidate and standardize variables originating from various data sources to achieve the best possible matches between records. Multiple linkage verifications were then implemented for quality assurance and final results were subjected to manual review to estimate linkage error rates.

The aggregated contents of the database undergo a quality evaluation from external partners, such as the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation and the Department of Finance Canada.

The linkage quality is assessed and improved by comparing linkages obtained through different methods and by improving the linkage algorithms with each iteration. Quality control is performed in order to reduce the rates of false positives and false negatives. Results are extensively reviewed during the linkage process to ensure that the methods used are correct and appropriate for the particular type of data. Furthermore, samples of linked records are manually reviewed and estimates of linkage error rates are calculated to ensure that linkages are of high quality.

For the June 2018 publication, CHSP linkage methodology was improved. Additionally, the reception of more recent versions of administrative data, including tax, emigration and geo-location data, has allowed for improved results in linkage rates.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any data which would divulge information obtained under the Statistics Act that relates to any identifiable person, business or organization without the prior knowledge and the consent in writing of that person, business or organization. Various confidentiality protections are applied to all data published to prevent the disclosure of any information deemed confidential. As necessary, data are suppressed or rounded to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

The use of the Canadian Housing Statistics Program data is subject to the normal privacy and confidentiality constraints to prevent the disclosure of personal information.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

As CHSP methodologies continue to be refined and new information becomes available, published data is subject to revision.

Data accuracy

Completeness

Since each Canadian municipality, province or territory has a legislated responsibility for property monitoring and assessment, completeness of the administrative data provided by external sources is considered relatively good.

The CHSP's database reflects the current content of the external data provider's registry of residential properties as of the date of extraction.

The CHSP database does not currently contain information on Indian reserves nor collective dwellings. Foreign embassies in Canada are also excluded. While non-residential properties are not included in the database, the residential portion of mixed properties (mix of residential and non-residential) are retained.

Duplicates

Initial investigations are performed to ensure that all properties on the data files are unique. Through internal linkages, duplicate records are identified and then suppressed if individuals or non-individuals are listed twice for the same property.

Under-reporting

Under-coverage of residential properties may exist for a variety of reasons: properties undergoing unreported changes between assessment periods (e.g., new constructions, demolitions, improvements performed without a building permit) are not captured in the assessment values. In addition, the changes in the housing stock that have taken place between the date of the data provider extraction and CHSP database will not be reflected.

Non-sampling errors

This database represents a complete picture of residential properties in Canada excluding those areas noted in this document. As such, there are no typical sampling errors associated with estimates calculated from this data base.

Coverage, uniformity of concepts, linkage error and timeliness of inputs should still be considered when determining the accuracy of analysis. Data accuracy measures will be the responsibility of the analyst using the database.

Timeliness

The data reflect the assessment value of the properties, not the actual (market) value. Each jurisdiction has its own dates on which property values are assessed and updated. For example, the Ontario information reflects the assessed value of properties on January 1, 2016 - for all changes made after January 1, 2016, values are rebased to this 2016 benchmark date. The next Ontario assessment rolls will be updated in 2020. British Columbia re-assesses its properties on an annual basis and the CHSP data reflects July 1st, 2016 values.