Canadian Housing Starts Decline in February

On Monday, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) reported that the total monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of housing starts for all areas in Canada decreased 4% in February to 229,030 units, down from 239,322 units in January.

The monthly SAAR for centers with a population of 10,000 or greater decreased 5% to 209,784 units, down from 220,074 units in January.

Actual housing starts fell 17% year-over-year in centers with a population of 10,000 or greater, with 14,459 units recorded in February, down from 17,454 a year earlier. The rural starts monthly SAAR estimate was 19,246 units.

The six-month trend in housing starts increased 1.1% to 239,382 units. The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the SAAR of total housing starts for all areas in Canada.