Canadian Housing Starts Decline Month-Over-Month in September

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) announced today (10-18-21) that the trend, which is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts, in September was 271,068 units, down from 284,757 units in August 2021. The standalone monthly SAAR of housing starts for all areas in Canada was 251,151 units in September, a decrease of -4.4% from 262,754 units in August.

The SAAR of urban starts decreased by -4.5% in September to 223,055 units. Multiple urban starts decreased by -4% to 165,861 units in September, while single-detached urban starts decreased by -5.9% to 57,194 units.

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 28,096 units.

In a statement prepared for the CMHC September housing start release, Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist said, “The six-month trend in housing starts declined from August to September, with total starts continuing to pull back from their earlier 2021 levels. Single-detached and multi-family SAAR starts were both lower in Canada’s urban areas in September, which led to a decline in overall SAAR starts for the month. On a trend and monthly SAAR basis, however, the level of housing starts activity in Canada remains high in historical terms. Among Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, Vancouver was the only market not to register growth in total SAAR starts in September, due to a decline in the multi-family segment.”