Canadian Housing Starts Decline in March

On Tuesday, 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 declined 7% to 242,195 units in March, down from 260,047 in February.

The six-month “trend,” which measures a six-month moving average of the SAAR, fell 1.6% from 247,971 units in February to 243,957 units in March.

CMHC reports that the actual number of housing starts in urban centers of 10,000 population and over increased 16% to 17,052 units in March, compared to 14,756 units in March 2023. The year-over-year increase was led by higher multi-unit starts, up 19%, and higher single-detached starts, up 2%.

March’s actual housing starts were 10% and 15% higher year-over-year in Toronto and Vancouver, respectively, because of higher multi-unit starts, while single-detached starts decreased. Montreal’s actual starts decreased 1%, dragged down by lower multi-unit starts.