Residential Construction Investment
Detailed information for second quarter 2007
Status:
Inactive
Frequency:
Quarterly
Record number:
5016
Residential Construction Investment represents the spending value for individuals, enterprises and governments in the construction of new residential dwellings, renovation work and the acquisition costs pertaining to new units built.
Data release - September 14, 2007
Description
The residential construction investment includes three components.
The first is investment in new housing construction (record number 5155) which includes the investment associated to single dwellings, semi-detached dwellings, row housing, apartments, cottages, mobile homes and additional housing units created from non-residential buildings or other types of residential structures (conversions).
The second component is investment in renovations given improvements, alterations and modifications to existing dwellings.
The third component is acquisition costs, which refers to the value of services relating to the acquisition of new dwellings. These costs include sales taxes, land development and service charges, as well as record-processing fees for mortgage insurance and the associated premiums.
The statistics are used by both internal and external clients such as the Canadian System of National Accounts, provincial governments, Conference Board and a wide range of economists and analysts from the public and private sectors.
Estimates of the value of residential construction investment are also used to derive the annual value of the Stock of Fixed Residential Capital (record number 5169).
Reference period: Quarter
Subjects
- Construction
- Economic accounts
- Residential construction
Data sources and methodology
Target population
All investment for residential buildings (single, doubles, rows and apartments) as well as all renovations made on existing residential buildings in the Canadian economy.
Instrument design
This methodology does not apply.
Sampling
This methodology does not apply.
Data sources
Data are extracted from administrative files and derived from other Statistics Canada surveys and/or other sources.
The first component of the residential construction investment is based on the Building Permits Survey of Canadian municipalities (record number 2802) and the Starts and Completions Survey of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
National Accounts provide the values for renovation and acquisition costs on a quarterly basis (record number 1901).
Error detection
Most reporting and data entry errors are corrected through computerized input and complex data review procedures. Strict quality control procedures are applied to ensure that collection, coding and data processing are as accurate as possible. Checks are also performed on totals and the magnitude of data.
Imputation
This methodology does not apply.
Estimation
Investment in new residential building construction is calculated by associating to the number of housing starts from CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) a provincial average value from the Building Permit Survey. Work put in place patterns are assigned to each province and each type of dwelling (single, double, row and apartment), in order to spread the value of housing starts over the construction period.
Investment will be a function of the work done on units started in a month, in addition to the work done on all the other housing starts within previous months for which the construction would not be completed.
The value of building permits excludes the cost of land but may include some acquisition costs. This value is adjusted to account for the fact that building permits usually underestimate the final value of the dwelling.
Quality evaluation
The quality of residential construction investment and its components (single, double, row and apartment) is evaluated by checking the consistency of these data with other sources.
Results are analyzed to ensure comparability with patterns observed in the historical data series and the economic condition of the industry. At each step of the process, checks are performed on totals and the magnitude of data in order to ensure that consistency and the quality of the estimates are maintained.
Any irregularities identified are carefully analysed and any corrections are made before the official release. Also, the data that comes from various surveys of Statistics Canada are checked for consistency and quality by the source divisions.
The estimate of renovations comes directly from the National Accounts System and takes into account the underground economy in this sector.
Disclosure control
Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any information it collects which could identify any person, business, or organization, unless consent has been given by the respondent or as permitted by the Statistics Act. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.
Revisions and seasonal adjustment
With the publication of the first quarter (early June), sixteen quarters (previous 4 years) are revised.
Data may be revised to include amended information or reports from respondents that are received after the end of a collection cycle. Revisions are disseminated in subsequent periods and reflected in the CANSIM series.
Data accuracy
No direct measure of the margin of error in the estimates can be calculated. The quality of the estimates can be inferred from analysis of revisions and from an assessment of the data sources and methodology used in preparation of the estimates.
Documentation
- Methodology - Investment in New Residential Building Construction (Work put in place)
- Flows and Stocks of Fixed Residential Capital
- Date modified: